Lastra

The clansman watched the events unfold before him with the same, detached expression he always possessed during such times. There wasn't even a moment that could be spared for questioning, but instead the man remained silent, observing and making careful calculations about the situation. The two who had appeared just previously, the Dragoness and young assassin, seemed to just have nothing else to do, and so seemed to decide it would be enjoyable, or at least somewhat interesting, to strike up a random conversation with complete strangers along a lonely road to Lethandrill. The next two riders, coming on horseback, seemed as if they appeared with more worthy intentions than simply for their own entertainment. The urgency he felt within them was evident, and it only increased with the addition of the next group of riders.

Khrae had only a moment to assess the first pair, a young woman with distinctly paler skin and pointed ears, as well as wearing not a lot of coverage, but still more than the Dragoness. Unless Khrae was simply being judgmental and forming conclusions based on first glance generalizations, she had to be a Naville. Later on he could worry about any threat she supposedly posed, but currently it seemed she was more in a hurry than anything to escape from something. The boy whom rested on her back had obviously seen better days, looking as if his daily sustenance intake had been replaced with a beating for a good week, maybe more.

Without totally disregarding the others once they had been evaluated, Khrae turned to the next three. A young woman whose eyes he could not see due to her silvery bangs rode alongside yet another woman, obviously older, but not at all lacking in an elegant beauty despite the fact, as well as was another man whom Khrae was surprised to learn was Lord V'lyn himself. Reasoning then giving Khrae enough to assume that the woman was the infamous, or simply famous, depending on your preferences, Jennifer. Khrae mulled this over in his head as he took in the man, the all powerful assassin leader who seemed as if he'd just come from a rather strenuous battle, and who quite literally fell into a state of unconsciousness, though luckily the woman riding with him had just managed to catch him. Whomever he'd been combating had obviously wielded devastating power, and as for the crystallized magic which latched onto him, Khrae had never seen it before.

“Well if you're quite done with playing around Astrid, I have a mission for you,” the woman said as she looked to the young assassin. "Fukayna, Astrid. You'll both be returning to Skyfall with me. I’ve performed some remedial healing but I must return to the city. I’ll need my lab in order to deal with the crystals. Once I’m finished with this debacle, we’re going after Torak. Take the Navile and elf prisoner with you Fukayna. I’ll have some further questions for them later.”

Khrae was swimming in his own thoughts as he took in everything that was happening and all that was said. Names were dubbed to those present, and then the information was sorted through and then processed. Torak stood out above all else. Yes, that was who Khrae and Dante were headed to see on behalf of their clan, and whom apparently had caused this whole ordeal. How exactly each one of these people fit in to the situation, however, Khrae wasn't sure, but he didn't question.

“Lethandrill is regrettably, gone. Unless your idea of sight seeing involves smoking ruins and dead corpses, I’d turn the other way folks. Have a nice day.”

Raising an eyebrow at the statement, Khrae let out an sigh of exasperation behind the cowl of his cloak. Lovely. Obviously then whoever these people were escaping from was a worthy adversary, especially considering the almighty Lord V'lyn had sustained such damage, and from what Khrae was gathering, the culprit was Torak. So the man had destroyed his own city? Hmm. That definitely complicated a lot of things. Before the swordsman could respond however, before he could even formulate a question to help clear up the mess of information that had just been thrown at him, the woman rode off with her companions, back to Skyfall.

Shaking his head, Khrae from those still here (I think it's just Capella.. ??), and then to Dante. The boy was staring at something, or someone, but he couldn't tell who or what. Tapping him on the shoulder to gather his attention, Khrae blinked once as the boy jumped suddenly, having drifted off quite a ways, consumed by whatever it was that held his attention. The man dismissed the action, however, as it wasn't unusual for Dante to get so distracted.

"O-huh, er.. Oh. What?" the boy finally questioned, looking around suddenly as he now began to register all that was going on around him.

"It seems as though we've encountered a hitch in our plans." The man said simply.

Dante looked at him curiously, not understanding. "...Okay.. What does that mean?"

"It means we're no longer going to Lethandrill." Khrae clarified.

The boy beamed brightly, overjoyed now that they didn't need to continue down this boring road to a stupid city for whatever stupid meeting. "Really?!" he exclaimed, throwing up his arms in excitement. "Haha, awesome! No more stinkin' meeting!"

"Hold your tongue," Khrae warned, now beginning to continue down the road.

Dante suddenly fell silent, clamping both hands over his mouth while managing to maintain an apologetic look for little more than two seconds. "Sorry," he mumbled, lowering his hands, "but I knew this whole trip was useless anyway." Happily, trotting up to his master's side, he smiled again. "So where are we going now? Some local pub, or a store, someplace actually fun, right?"

"Skyfall."

Dante stopped, looking at Khrae's back now, his mouth slightly ajar. "Skyfall?" he complained. "Why?!"

"Because our previous destination has been destroyed, and we have to go there anyway to speak with Lord V'lyn. I'd also like to know exactly what happened during his visit to Lethandrill that would leave him in such a state, what would cause the Steward to destroy his own city."

"Another meeting?!" Dante said, once more hurrying to catch up to the man. "Ugh, this clan business is soo boring! Plus, do you even realize how far away Skyfall is? It's a lot farther than where we just came from!"

Khrae turned slightly to face his student, truly amused for once, though the reaction remained hidden beneath his hood. "Oh? So you actually know something? Congratulations."

"I know plenty," Dante protested. "Like... like... Uhmm..." The boy paused, trying to think of something that would impress his mentor, but finding nothing.

"Nevertheless," Khrae continued, dismissing the previous conversation, "It's either a trip to Skyfall to speak with Lord V'lyn and find out what's going on, or we go meditate and train."

"Off to Skyfall!" Dante proclaimed, pointing down the road and beginning to run. Khrae simply shook his head, smiling with content beneath his hood as he continued walking, watching the boy gain distance ahead of him.

Astrid gave a cheeky little grin and a little salute. Back to Skyfall? Happy days, no more walking. Walking was slightly worse than a slow painful death being eaten by a really nasty dragon. Well. That's what Astrid thought. She had never suffered a slow painful death being eaten by a really nasty dragon but she used her imagination. But what did her superior mean by Lethandrill is regrettably, gone? Surely it couldn't just be gone. Cities don't just disappear. Astrid grinned at the thought of a city just going "poof" and it vanished, like a magician's trick gone large scale. And then some. Stephano just rolled his eyes at his companion.

"Aye aye, Miss Jennifer, ma'am!" She turned on the spot as the mage took off with Talon on the back of her horse. Astrid winced a little at that. Maybe she should have offered to let his ride with her and Stephano. It would have been a much smoother ride. But then she shook her head. Ha! Talon had fought in the great war! He'd be fine! Just fine.

Wouldn't he?

The assassin distracted herself from these disturbing thoughts by trying to figure out where her little scaly friend had gone to. Because he was not on her back right now. As she turned to find Stephano, she giggled. Aw, her dragon. Such the gentleman.

Stephano had obviously noticed that this 'Sheep Fur' person (Astrid couldn't even hope to pronounce that name so "Miss Sheep Fur" it was) was struggling to get back on her horse and had gone to lend a hand. It was actually kind of cute. Stephano wasn't all that bad, she supposed. Unless he was being whiny. Which was often. So really, Stephano was all that bad.

After both the horses had gone on their way, Astrid bounded over to her dragon who looked up at her.

"All abord the Stephano express?" Astrid asked, her eyes wide and pleading. The sandy brown being rolled his large eyes and spead his large wings out to allow Astrid to climb onto his back.

"Well, are you just going to stand there all day? I'm pretty sure we have work to do." Stephano drawled, his voice laced with sarcasm. Astrid hopped onto his back and hit Stephano's side sharply with her bow.

"Yeah, smartass. We got work to do. Now hustle. I don't wanna be the last one to Skyfall because of your mediocre flying skills." The assassin remarked, grinning as she sat in her normal position, knees against the wings joints and hands braced in front of her.

"Fine then." Stephano took off with a large whoosh noise as his huge wings forced him into the air. He moved with a grace that you wouldn't imagine from a dragon that was so clumsy on his feet. His large wings spanned the sky and before long, they found themselves way above Jennifer, Sheep Fur and the other two, one of which was still not looking good. Astrid leaned to the side and Stephano obeyed, tilting his wings so that they moved over to the left. There. Now the sick guy was in the shade of Stephano's large wings. Maybe that would help him. It was a rather uneventful journey until Stephano stopped dead in the air, hovering a little.

"Oh, Riena..."

"What? What is it. Steph-Oh Riena..." Jennifer was correct. Lethandrill was gone. It was wasn't totally gone but it was near enough, in Astrid's opinion. The ruins of a great city stood among the destruction.

"Something bad is going on here. Something very not good." Astrid whispered, hands fluttering to her collarbone. Stephano nodded before carrying on to catch up with the rest of their company. The dragon glided down towards the others a little, feeling his assassin's need to know they were OK. Apart from Talon and the sickly looking guy, the rest of them seemed OK. She hoped. Stephano felt this little bit of worry leak through their bond and he pushed it away, trying to reassure her that they were fine. Everyone was going to be OK. The sandy brown dragon flapped his wings powerfully rising in the air before gliding down closer to the others.

"So. We should play a game."

"Really. And what should this game be?"

"Oh, it could be "Tell Astrid about the weird ass dragon deal" or "Jennifer baiting" or even I Spy!" Astrid said, crossing her arms. She needed something to take her mind off the current events. And what better way to do that than by annoying Stephano?

"Ok. No, hell no and don't even try. And in that order."

"Yay! I spy..."

"No."

"With my..."

"Stop it."

"Little (although incredibly accurate) eye..."

"We are not playing this game."

"Something beginning with..."

"Astrid, I'm serious. Not after last time."

"Hmm...something beginning with S!" Astrid finished, leaning back, feeling smug. That dragon was NEVER going to get this one.

"I despise you. I really do."

"I know that. Now guess!"

"Fine, fine. S? Salt?"

"Don't know where the hell you're seeing salt, dragon boy, but no."

"Sand?"

"Again, god knows where you're seeing that and hell no."

"The sun?"

"You can't look directly at the sun, you idiot. Therefore, I cannot spy it."

"Fine. I fricking give up. What the hell is it?" Stephano grouched, trying to concentrate. Oddly enough, he got a wave of deja vu. As long as she didn't start on again at the puppies, he'd be fine. He wouldn't kill her.

He hoped.

It would be slightly awkward to explain to Jennifer why one of her assassins was now in a billion little flaming pieces.

"It's sheep fur, you silly!" Stephano's brain froze for a few minutes before he sighed heavily.

"Wolf. Fur. it's wolf fur."

"Nuh uh. Sheep fur!"

"Wolf. It's wolf. Ask her yourself if you fricking want. It is WOLF FUR. Stephano yelled, his eyes wide and jaw squared. Astrid stopped for a minute before falling back with laughter.

"I...I..." The assassin gasped for breath, laughter streaming out of her mouth. Stephano rolled his eyes and took on a wicked grin of his own.

"Let's see how funny you find this." With that, the dragon pitched down, forcing Astrid to lie flat on her stomach as Stephano shot down and down and down. He almost reached the ground around a metre or two in front of Jennifer and then shot back up again, twirling as he did. Astrid screamed, laughter piercing the terror.

"Stephano! Stop it!" The assassin called to her dragon, not really meaning it. Her long red hair flying around her as the dragon flew up into the air again. She wasn't worried. They had done this kind of thing before, until much deadlier circumstances. But the thrill falling through the air gave her was still phenomenal. Unbeatable. Stephano arched his back as he went to loop the air and Astrid fell. Again, she didn't worry. She didn't need to. A few seconds after just falling in the air upside down, she flipped herself upright and landed square on Stephano's back again. The assassin giggled, eyes screwed shut, hands reaching the air as Stephano carried on dancing through the air.

Who needed a horse when you had a dragon anyways?

After a while, they decided to cease their aerial display for now and glided down until they were above the others again. Then Astrid decided she wanted to meet the new recruit, properly this time. Stephano agreed, also wanting to meet this new person civilly now instead of being attacked by her later for something Astrid had roped him into. The dragon and his rider soared down until almost eyes level to the woman wrapped in fur.

"So! Who are you?" Astrid asked, her hair flying around her face and eyes shimmering from the adrenaline of their flight. Stephano rolled his eye and just carried on gliding gently beside the poor woman Astrid was probably going to scar for life.

The Dragoness smirked, lapsing into silence after her little talk with the younger dragon - although she still disliked referring to this "Stephano" as an actual dragon, he had at least proven he had some respect for his betters, even if he'd lost his own dignity, so she'd allow him to sully his race's title for a little longer, she supposed. Either way, matters had at least been resolved, and, as they came to an agreement, she felt the rage that had slowly built up inside her begin to simmer down. Slowly, her talons retracted, and the great weight of her anger that had pressed down upon everyone present began to fade. The simmering, malevolent flames faded back down, until they at last flickered out. Her tail still twitched back and forth, but it was once more with an air of contemplation rather than suppressed killing intent. And, slowly, her eyes faded back to their more humanoid appearance - although, naturally, their unusual amber coloring remained.

She had a deal. Her secret would be kept safe, and, if it was not, she had full rights to slaughter the conniving beast for his deceit. If he did suffer that fate, it would be one he'd brought upon himself, which meant there would be no need to even bother with his troublesome existence any longer should she need to dispose of him. She had a feeling that this eventuality would take place sooner or later, but, right now, it seemed like there were more interesting things afoot than her future job of ending the life of this "Stephano." Like, for example, the fact that Lethandrill had been completely destroyed, and that apparently the legendary heroes of the Order of Riena had been completely unable to do anything about it. And now, apparently, they were running away with their tails between their legs, their leader incapacitated by some sort of unusual magic.

As the passing party swiftly left, Capella gave a somewhat sadistic chuckle. "The fools," She said, smirking as she watched their backs slowly fading from view. "I believe I said several times to that assassin and her pet exactly what I was. Were they a little more bright, perhaps I'd have healed their whelp friends for them. As it is, I'm sure they'll suffer much more on such a rough journey. It never ceases to amaze me how incompetent some of these Humans can be. But, I digress," She turned back to the two behind her as they seemed to make up their minds on heading to Skyfall after the rest of the group. Well, that was now the opposite direction from where she'd planned to go, but, things had changed a little bit. Strange workings were afoot. The strange power she had sensed, the revelation that an entire city had been destroyed, and the appearance of this intriguing boy. She didn't really care much for Human affairs, but two things in all of this had attracted her curiosity. Firstly, what sort of power was it that could do so much damage so quickly? She wanted to learn more, wanted to obtain this power if she could. With that much strength, no Human would ever be able to bother her again. No one could challenge her rule. She would be the queen of all creatures, lord over whatever she wanted to possess instead of having to skulk around, hiding from the race she so loathed. In short, that strength, should she obtain it... could become her salvation.

Secondly, there was the matter of the boy. Although he was imperfect, and seemed like he might prove somewhat annoying to train properly, he had promise, and she had already pegged him as a treasure. Her capricious dragon nature already counted him as one of her possessions, and no matter what flaws he might have, she could always correct them in time, of which she had plenty. She wanted him, and she would have him as a part of her hoard. It was as simple as that. So, she reached a decision. For now, she would remain with these two travelers, accompanying them on their journey.

But, there was a small problem. Now that they were going right back the way they came, they were bound to run headlong into a certain group of dragon hunters on the lookout for a creature of exactly Capella's description. They'd never let her pass on foot. Thus, she couldn't just walk along with the travelers, or else she'd be sure to run into trouble. In that case, there were only a couple solutions. Either she could pretend to leave, lure the hunters off course, then return, or, she could fly, and somehow take the travelers with her. The latter course of action, of course, seemed vastly preferable. Capella was a very impatient dragon, and she didn't like the prospect of walking clear to Skyfall. That would take at least a day, which was time she could have spent uncovering the truth behind the current situation and getting closer to the power she now craved. So, in that case, the choice was obvious...

"Hmm, you know, I just had a thought," Capella said, her old, innocent smile returning as she slipped comfortably back into her old mood. Oh, it would certainly be interesting to see their reactions to this. "If you take too long to get to Skyfall, the order you're hoping to meet with might well be in such a state of emergency that they simply won't have time for you. But, if you get there quickly, you might well be able to discuss things with them before they start planning their next moves." She smirked coolly, then made her proposition. "But, of course, walking would never get you there in time. Ah, how unfortunate... But maybe I can help you with this? See, if Lethandrill has been destroyed, then I'm in a bit of a bind. It will be very hard for me to find mass quantities of food, and as you know, I am a very hungry dragon. So, I'll offer you a deal. If you agree to procure for me the supplies I need so I can get my meal without drawing overly much attention to myself, then perhaps I can speed up your travels a bit? I can carry at least one of you and fly you to Skyfall. Of course, the other would have to walk, but, considering the speed you've already displayed... Khrae, was it? I have a feeling you could keep up perfectly well if I carried your precious little student. Don't worry, I won't break or harm him. I am a very careful dragon."

("I am a very <Insert adjective here> dragon" seems to be Capella's new catchphrase.)

Xandur

"Finally. Hopefully now I'll get some answers." Xandur said ass Skyfall came into view. Getting here had been no small feat, especially after that bright light from Torak. Mainly, he needed to exchange a few words with Jennifer. He.....sort of understood why she threw a boulder at him. What he didn't understand was how she threw it at him.

[RECAP]


V'lyn had rushed the Steward and it seemed the two were having a battle of strength, skill, magic and will. They seemed to goback and forth. Xandur was about to step in and help V'lyn, until Jennifer landed directly in his path. “Too bad for you, at this stage I don’t care about your intentions,” she smiled an oddly innocent smile and proceeded to materialize and launch a boulder the size of a carriage at him.

Like a reflex, Xandur's stone arm flew up and the markings grew bright. The boulder landed squarely in his stony palm. The shock of the hit caused Xandur to slide back a bit. The slide put unneeded pressure on his injured leg and forced him to his knee. His face twisted with pain. It felt as if his leg bones were staring to catch fire and melt his leg from the inside out.

In reaction to his pain, his gauntlets clawed finger began to dig in to the boulder. The sound caused him to look up from his leg, and realize that the boulder blocked his view from all. Xandur then remembered what was happening at the moment. That mage woman and her strange yet intriguing powers had stopped him from helping to save her Lord. He understood she was playing itself, but a boulder, truly?

The symbols of the gauntlet flashed suddenly and purple cracks filled the once empty space of the large rock. It then shattered, sending rock shrapnel everywhere. Still kneeling, Xandur surveyed the battle.

It seemed that Jennifer was exercising the better part of valor alongside V'lyn. He then looked over to Torak. He seethed with power, it seemed the very air around him to be distorted. He felt his Sight tugging at him, telling him there was more than there appeared to be. Even so.......it was nothing Xandur wished to See.

Well, this attempt to help a stranger had apparently landed him in situation where he was 20 feet from an Elf with enough power to level a city and half a mind to do so. While his own energy levels were rather lower and he was fairly certain he couldn't move his leg. So, in short, he was standing next to a massive time bomb with a broken leg at the top of a staircase.

He had hoped he would learn that going out of his way and helping people would only bite him in the ass, but he apparently never got the message. He assumed he was just one of those people. The vagrant didn't understand why, but he started laughing. First chuckling to himself, then it grew to a deep hearty bass laugh flowing from his diaphragm. Light, blinding light then filed his sight. The next moment, Xandur was surrounded by nothing except the sound of his own laughter.

Xandur's eye suddenly shot open and he sat up. He looked around and found himself to be on top of a smal hill in a clearing of trees. He quickly stood up and surveyed the area. Xandur then froze.....his leg, it no longer hurt. It was definitely sore, but beyond that, it seemed fine. He fell to his knees in utter bewilderment.

He was alive and unscathed. He thought he would've died in that.....whatever you want to call that blast of light from Torak's bracer. But, how? Just what had happened?

It was then he noticed that his shirt had a burn hole in it the same shape as his amulet....along with his flesh. He eyed it curiously. He then looked into the distance. "Who am I?"

He decided such profound questions were better thought on elsewhere. Now he had to decide, where to go from here? He had assumed that Jennifer and V'lyn had escaped. They seemed to know what the hell was going on. And Xandur was most likely certain that he would explode if he didn't figure out what exactly had happened back there. That meant going to Skyfall.

So......how would he find it. He wasn't even sure where he was now. How would he find them?

A thought surged through his head like a lightning bolt. You caught the boulder the mage threw at you with your gauntlet, that boulder she created. Use the residual magic to find her. Xandur held his head a moment in surprise at how fast the thought came. He looked around. "I can do that?"

Xandur lifted his stone gauntlet up and focused on Jennifer's magic, remembering the taste from earlier that day.......well, he hoped it was still the same day at least.

The gauntlet glowed and a purple energy floated up from the gauntlet and began to spin. After a few minutes of concentration, the longer end pointed off to his left. The one eyed man looked that way. "Well, I suppose it's a start. Which is more than I've had in awhile." With that, Xandur set off to find more answers.

[END RECAP]


Xandur had finally made it to the doors of the order of Riena. He took a deep breath and knocked three times. After awhile, the door was opened by a tall man in remotely formal attire. HE could tell just by staring at this man, that he was prepared to kill Xandur if necessary. Not that he would expect much else from an order of assassins. "Can I help you?" asked the man.

Xandur smiled."No, but Jennifer might. May I see her?"

The mans eyebrow raised slightly. "I'm afraid Lady Jennifer is rather busy tending with the recent events. If she is the only one that can help you, I'm going to have to ask you to come back later." The man said, attempting to shut the gate on him.

Xandur's hand shot out and slammed against the door that it surprised him. He sighed a very heavy sigh. He truly did not feel like talking his way in after the day he had. Neither was he going to cut his way through. He would have to resort to less than friendly abilities. He hated doing this.

He looked up at the man. "Actually, perhaps you can help me, I'm rather desperate." Xandur lifted up his hand and took off his eyepatch, revealing his scarred eye, closed.

"Oh?"

"Yes, it's my eye. Could you tell me if you see anything strange about it?" Then, his eye shot open. It pupil seemed to spin and whirl, the sclera suddenly glowing purple.

The second the man looked at it, his eyes went dead. After a few seconds, they lit back up. He shook his head, then looked back at Xandur, who was re positioning his eyepatch. He smiled. "Welcome home!"

Xandur smiled back at him. "Good to see you too, brother!" The two then hugged.

The man, who's name he now knew was Tiber, walked him into the Order. "You weren't due back for months! What are you doing back here so soon?"

Xandur then played worried. "Trouble I'm afraid. I can't tell you anything now. I must speak with Lord V'lyn or Lady Jennifer first. Though, you look tired, I think you should sleep."

"Sleep? Nonsense, I feel fine."

"Trust me.......sleep."

Tiber then yawned, licked his lips for a moment. He stumbled over to a bench and passed out on top of it.

Xandur sighed, he hated invading the minds of others, but he was just not in the mood for anything else at this moment. He distinguished the location that Jennifer might be, their conference room, which Xandur know knew the location of. V'lyn was most likely recovering from his duel with Torak, probably eating in his room. Xandur had decided that he should not trouble him.

Xandur made off for the conference room and found it within a minute. He had put up a mental barrier around himself to make any who looked upon him to believe that it was perfectly normal for him to be there.

Xandur casually opened the door to find, of all things, a Dragon laying on the conference table. It was a small thing, rather well looked after if the creatures rim middle was any indication. Their was also a girls who's hair had been touched by flame. Along with Fukayna, all sitting at the table. He put on his best smile and closed the door behind him.

"Hello there, Fukayna. Good to see you made it out of there in one piece. Am I assume young Armen and Fay X'san did as well? Good." he said casually as he walked over to the left of the room.

He then turned to the red haired girl. "Here's a face I do not recognize." he then looked to the dragon."Two faces actually. I'm Xandur. A pleasure." He said with a small bow. He then looked back and forth betwen them. "Now, could any of you tell me where Jennifer might be? There are some things I would very much like to discuss with her."

RECAP

"Fly?!" Dante exclaimed happily. "You can fly me?!" The boy's face was lit up with enthusiasm at the idea of actually getting an express route to Skyfall, one that didn't involve running, a bumpy ride on horseback, or whatever other means of transportation there was. No, instead what was being offered was something that wouldn't otherwise tax him physically, either with exhaustion or aches that would haunt him later. The idea was brilliant, especially if it meant he could escape Khrae, if only for just an hour or however long it would take. Any time away was time well spent. One look at the older swordsman however, who was already shaking his head, made the boy's elated smile twist around and into a frown. His next face was one that looked far too practiced to be genuine sadness, as if he'd used it, which he had, millions of times to try to merit some alternate outcome from his mentor.

"But Khraeeee..." Dante complained.

"If you truly think that face will work," Khrae said stoically, not even looking at the boy, "then that simply shows how much knowledge from past experiences you retain, and explains wh---"

"Explains why I don't learn anything because no matter how much I'll study I won't remember it because I don't blah blah blah!" Dante interrupted, his expression once more transforming, though this time into one of irritation at the man's constantly being so repetitive.

"If you've memorized everything I've said, maybe I should--"

"Maybe you should read to me!" Dante proclaimed, once more finishing his mentor's statements while throwing his hands up into the air defeatedly and sighing loudly. "Really?!" The boy groaned, kicking a stone towards Khrae, though missing terribly. "What's wrong with me flying?" Dante questioned, losing the previous voice of irritation for one of simple curiosity towards the man's logic. "Seriously, you can fly! What's wrong with me doing it?"

"There's nothing wrong with you flying," Khrae began, still not even bothering to look to his young ward. "bu--"

"Then why can't I?"

"To further enforce what I've been trying to teach you, you cannot because you've yet to sit down and for once meditate longer than fifteen minutes, thus your ancestors haven't granted you such-"

"Nooo," Dante protested loudly. "Why can't Capella carry me?"

"Because I'm not going to waste my time gathering food for your new friend simply to have you airlifted when you're perfectly capable of walking." Khrae said. Of course he was also aware of the time restrictions, and while the idea was tempting, he wasn't about to let the person he was tasked with protecting and maintaining an eye on be literally swooped up and carried away. No matter how annoying. Not to mention that if he did attempt to keep up to the Dragoness for the entire journey, either using his speed or ability to hover on his wings of fire, he'd surely die.

"What if I get the food when we get there, and then promise to meditate for the entire time you're meeting with... Uh, what's his name." Dante snapped his fingers several times, looking around as he dug through his head to find the name of Lord V'lyn. "The leader.." He finally finished, having given up on the strenuous activity. "What about then?"

"It takes the bribe of the prospect of being able to fly just to get you to meditate and pay for yourself?" Khrae questioned, slightly intrigued now as he looked at the boy. Then as an afterthought, and with a smile that could almost be interpreted as amused if anyone could see it from behind the cowl of his cloak, he added, "You don't even have money."

Dante was becoming quite hopefully as he gave a thumbs up to Capella. He knew his rouse was probably working, and once Khrae sat down to meditate himself, he'd be up and gone. Though, at the realization of the fact that he held nothing to pay for food, he put on his best act of innocence. "Uh, Khrae... could I borrow... like.. ten silver coins?" Smiling at the man as he held out his hands, he knew if worse came to worse, he'd simply steal whatever it was Capella wanted. A moment later however, when the man's hand came out to him and dropped the wanted monetary donation into his palms, Dante had to admit that at times, when Khrae wanted to be, he wasn't so bad.

"But!" Khrae knew that the single action would probably cause the worst of heart-attacks in his student, and he was right, because as he looked to Dante, he saw all the boy's hopes suddenly die as he winced, waiting. "I expect you to be meditating by the time I get to Skyfall... And Capella, I will be keeping an eye on you."

Sighing with relief, Dante towards the Dragoness. "Right!" he said looking back once more to Khrae. Beaming triumphantly, as if what he'd just done was something not even the most skilled of negotiators could accomplish, he approached Capella and whispered, "Don't worry. We'll get the food and do whatever. We've got like... time."


SKYFALL

Khrae watched as the man left, bringing his message to whomever it concerned, probably Jennifer, that he was here and wished to speak with V'lyn, as well as introduce himself and the clan. That done, he turned back to Dante who was sitting cross-legged in the center of the courtyard, one eye peeping open at him, and not at all meditating like he said he would be. Of course it didn't surprise Khrae, but even so the man's arm came out as he walked around the boy, impacting hard on the back his head.

"Concentrate!" Khrae snapped, somehow harboring a commanding and harsh tone, while still maintaining the same neutral one. How he did it, Dante didn't know, but quickly he shut his eye, mumbling under his breath something about it being difficult to do such things when the man was always talking and hitting him. Of course that simply merited another thump on the top of his head, though this time from the pommel of the man's sword, so the boy sighed and shut up. He hated having to sit around and do nothing, especially when it cost him the loss of feeling in his leg, but even so, the experience of being able to fly was more than exhilarating, and well worth it.

Glancing up, the older swordsman let out a long exasperated breath. Pacing around, his bare feet were silent in the courtyard as he shut his own eyes, relaxing momentarily. Currently with all that happened, now would be a perfect time for meditation, but because he knew that Dante would only take that opportunity to sneak away and cause trouble, the man would have to wait. He couldn't risk that happening whilst they were here on such terms, especially considering he knew that at any moment, the order of Vyldi could be watching to ensure that the clan truly meant no harm, or if anything went wrong, he or Dante could be dead without anyone knowing it. These people were a force Khrae didn't wish to contend with, not in the city of assassins itself.

Opening his eyes, the man was surprised to find one of said skilled nighttime marauders before him. She had stopped as she crossed through the courtyard, their gazes meeting momentarily. The man felt no need to acknowledge further, as it was obvious she knew he saw her, and instead put his mind to work calculating everything about her that he may have missed from their previous encounter. She seemed just as shy and nervous as before, clinging to the furs that hung about her, probably for comforting reasons to keep her moving considering she'd just stopped dead as soon as the man made visual contact. He then watching as she continued on, seemingly in a hurry to either get where she was going, or to simply escape from his scrutinizing stare, though she glanced back one more time before disappearing. Khrae simply maintained his usual apathetic composure as his eyes fell upon Dante, whom was hopelessly lost in looking towards the area the young girl had once occupied before she'd left his sight.

Sighing again, the man removed his hood and pulled down the cowl of his cloak as he shook his head and once more hit the boy with the pommel of his sword. No words were necessary, as Dante knew what he'd been doing and what he was supposed to be doing, so the man simply rolled his eyes and continued pacing. Perhaps if the boy could've gotten a girl back in the clan, she would've made him concentrate. It took just that to even get him to consider meditation, albeit though in return for being able to fly, but then again, no one from the clan would've considered someone so careless and troublesome, it simply wasn't worth their time.

Khrae

There was hardly anything unusual happening in the time that Dante spent sitting cross-legged on the ground. The routine was simple; pace, the boy peeks, Khrae administers the repercussion, the boy shuts his eyes again, and then the cycle begins again. The only variable was how long Dante could manage to stay at least looking like he was trying to concentrate, which still wasn't very long. Both mentor and student were well accustomed to this style of somewhat meditation, and after several years together, it almost seemed like neither of them really realized they were doing what they were, but of course that wasn't the case.

Khrae watched as the Naville woman made her way silently into the courtyard, her steps light as she approached the boy with a rather amused smile. Sitting down, she then merited just the smallest amount of admiration and surprise from the older swordsman as she folded her legs and mirrored the boy before her. Raising an eyebrow, Khrae nodded approvingly before his gaze fell back to his student, whom he knew was contemplating some sort of devious plot in his mind. Most of the time it included the Dante having figured out how long it took for his master to have paced entirely around him, thus allowing him to try to trip him, or make whatever strange face while his back was turned. It didn't work of course, or not anymore, but it was still always worth the entertainment.

Pacing to the boy's side and then simply waiting, Khrae sighed.


Dante

Dante was ready to pounce. In his mind he was counting seconds, listening intently for the swishing of the man's cloak as it passed in front of him, to his right, behind him, to his lef--... No, it stopped. Khrae was behind him. Damnit. Maybe wait longer? No, impossible... Wait. The boy tilted his head to one side as discretely as he could, trying to listen, because he could've sworn he just heard either Khrae somehow go from his back to front, or someone else had appeared. Does that mean perhaps Dante should be on his best behavior? Well of course not! Alright sure, his attempts so far at had all failed, futile, frivolous, blah blah, whatever Khrae wanted to call them, but now Dante was sure he had the perfect method of attack...

Khrae had actually taught him the move he was about to do, a quick maneuver that got you off the ground while sending your opponent down in your place. Though it only worked when they were behind you. Despite Dante always being late or hardly listening during the training sessions, some of the man's teachings did find their way into the boy's thick head. Luckily because of the overall integrity of his skull, which could probably spend hours being bashed against a wall without getting even a dent as the monks said, nothing really escaped either.

Opening his eyes, Dante was about to make his move when he faltered. It was the face of the young woman before him that caught him completely off guard, thin strands of hair falling just in her face, the rest framing it perfectly. He'd seen her before, but she hadn't been this close, and hadn't been watching him so intently. It was just that, that sent the boy sprawling backwards instead of coming up and around to his feet like he'd intended, while sending Khrae down in his place. Flapping his hands a moment to regain his balance, any concentration, if any, was completely tossed aside as he struggled to gather himself off the ground, trying to get back into his sitting position while not looking like too much of a fool.

"You're meditating isn't very good," she said softly, laughing, "Would you like me to show you?"

Dante was lost for words as his face grew red hot. What started out as an attempt to take down Khrae, ended up with him simply landing on his rear and looking like a total idiot in front of... Whomever this was. He didn't even know the woman, had only seen her once, and yet she was here, leaning towards him with such a warm, sweet smile and offering to help with his failing attempts at such a boring chore. That fact alone was one that perplexed the boy even more, as how could someone like this know anything of meditation, or even consider offering to show him how to do it correctly? Albeit there were some girls in the clan who enjoyed such a tedious task and were still rather attractive, but even so, they wouldn't even bother giving him a first glance, let alone actually approaching with such a close proximity and offering to show him how to properly meditate.

Blinking several times, Dante began mouthing random sounds as again he tried in vain to formulate proper speech patterns before he simply looked to Khrae. Had the boy been a little less flustered, perhaps he would've been annoyed that the man had been on his left instead of behind him, meaning that move he was about to do wouldn't have worked. Either way, however, Dante knew from the expression the man held, with the smallest of variations that he'd learned to pick up, that Khrae had been well aware of the woman's presence, and yet he did nothing.

"Er-I.. Ah.. Wh..?" was all the boy could manage before Capella took over. Why she was so annoyed, he wasn't sure. He may have been even more confused he had actually heard her words, but yet he was still occupied with the face before him. Looking to the three around him, he was stuck between the girl whose stunning eyes pried for their answer, his mentor who was of no help in the situation, and the Dragoness yelling about something. Dante simply shut his eyes, trying to process everything until finally Khrae intervened, dragging the boy to his feet and moving him off to the side.

"Stay," he said, before proceeding back to the two women.

Talon V'lyn

He moved out of the room swiftly and down the stairs. Talons sharp ears caught the sounds of someone banging around in one of the corridors. He felt his blood pressure rising and was thankful that Jennifer hadn't accompanied him out to get the two men waiting for an audience with him. Astrid wouldn't have lived to see another day should Jennifer hear her doing that one more time. Even so, he was certain the young assassin was bound to be nearly killed by the other assassins in place of Jennifer.

"ASTRID!!" The loud gruff yell could only have been one man and Talon soon caught sight of the elder assassin as he came storming down the hall in search of the red haired woman.

"Sebastian."

"My Lord," the assassin said hardly covering his angered tone, "Have you seen that red haired brat?"

"No. But when you find her, bring her to see me," Talon ordered. He held back his smile, keeping a stony face instead. At the back of his mind he was deviously thinking of what he was going to do to terrify the young red haired assassin. Many things came to mind, he even mulled over the thought of handing Astrid over to Jennifer to allow the mage some enjoyment in tormenting the younger woman.

"Lord V'lyn," Sebastian replied, bowing his head and then hurrying off in search of the girl. There weren't too many places that Astrid could hide, and there was also her dragon Stephano to think of as well. Bribe the dragon, find the girl. It wouldn't have been the first time of course.

Talon proceeded to exit the building and moved into the courtyard where he caught sight of the Navile woman and the two men who wanted his attention. However there was another woman, or rather, dragon like creature, that was baring her teeth at the half startled elf. The Navile stood up from her sitting position in front of a young boy and backed away cautiously. She put a smile on her lips and raised her hands.

"I meant no harm," she stammered softly, tilting her head off to the side.

Lord V'lyn moved purposefully into the area, gathering the attention of the tall man with long white robes and twin swords. He turned his steely grey eyes towards the strange woman as he stood there. From the lack of surprise and caution between the tall man in white and the much younger boy sitting on the ground, Talon figured that this woman was known somehow between them. Though, she did look vaguely familiar. Perhaps he'd seen her right before his loosing consciousness back in Lethandrill. Even so, he didn't like the fact that she was there and trying to pick a fight already with one of his guests.

"Enough," his commanding tone was backed by a bit of magic from the bracer on his arm. Dragon, half dragon or no, Talon was hardly intimidated by her presence. It took a lot to intimidate him these days, especially since the War. After getting his point across and making sure that all knew their place especially seeing as they were in his jurisdiction, he turned to the man in white.

"I assume you're the one calling for an audience with me? From the clan of the Phoenix? I am Lord V'lyn, if you'll come with me I'll see you now. I've got another to speak to as well, so I hope you don't mind sitting in to a long meeting," the assassin explained as he turned slightly lifting his arm to gesture towards the Guild. Talon led the two from the clan back into the house, but before entering he turned to the dragon woman.

"You would be wise to stay out here and out of sight. Cause any trouble... you'll have more than just me to deal with," he cautioned her firmly.

He closed the door gently and took the lead before the two men. Bringing them up the stairs for the final time, he reentered the room with Jennifer and the man with the stone gauntlet. Gesturing to the empty seats, Talon folded his arms across his broad chest as he leaned against the table in the front of the room. It was Jennifer's desk where she worked at, but he also used it at times too. Once they were all seated he spoke.

"We'll start with the clan of the Phoenix. State your names and business for being here."

Armen Sorien

His consciousness seeped back to him as he slowly woke from falling asleep. It had probably been a few hours and it was a small commotion that woke him. With a soft groan he slowly lifted himself forwards in the seat that he'd drifted to sleep in. Running his hand through his hair he looked about the dim room and spotted Fukayna sitting on her bed. Next to her was a dragon and a second later something or someone slipped underneath the bed. Armen was awake then, his eyebrow coming down in confusion as he looked up to the dragon and Fukayna.

"Um..." he started, unsure of what was going on or how to even begin. First off he hadn't even really meant to fall asleep in Fukayna's room, so that alone was awkward.

"I... Who was that just now?" He asked, deciding to keep it simple as he pointed towards the underneath of the bed.

Before he could answer, the door opened and a very angry looking elder man glared into the room as he filled the doorway. It must have been someone who lived in the large home, another assassin from the looks. His armor was much like the Lord V'lyn's, except it was black and with more buckles and attachments than Armen thought humanly possible.

"Astrid! I know you're in here you little..." The man growled as he stormed into the room. He glanced around and folded his arms over his chest. Turning to Fukayna he narrowed his eyes.

"Hand her over miss Fukayna. I've checked everywhere else, there's no place left but here. You can't fool me, Astrid. Lord V'lyn wants to see you... Now..."

Armen's face flushed as he felt the atmosphere in the room darken. He wasn't entirely sure what to do, so he was stuck sitting in the chair watching the drama unfold.

Ruins of Lethandrill : Torak

His finger thrummed against the arm of his throne. The silver tipped claws of his gauntlet scratching into the stone as he drummed them. His city was empty, void of any life and only smelt of death and dark magic. However, this didn't seem to phase him in the least as he sat there, deep in contemplation. Lord V'lyn had managed to take the elf that was a threat to his position, not only that but he'd been highly interested in Torak's gauntlet.

Slowly his fingers curled into a fist as he sat there. That damned assassin was after his power, just like everyone else. All of the Orders were after power that shouldn't be theirs. Especially the Order of Vyldi. They put up a front of locking down their mages, keeping them under hook and chain, but in reality they wanted all the power to themselves. They were putting everyone under their thumbs. Torak had always known the mages were just putting up a front, all so that they could bring themselves into higher power and rule over everyone else.

As if he'd let that happen. It was bad enough that the Order of Riena worked in the shadows and everyone knew that the assassins held the true power in Lastra. It didn't matter if the cities had Kings and Queens, it didn't matter that there were Orders in place to keep the balance of power. No, Lord V'lyn had already taken all that power, he'd tipped those scales long ago. He had too much power, in Torak's opinion. Now he wanted to take what little power Torak had gained away from him! The audacity.

"Fuming in darkness again I see."

Torak lifted his head to see who had spoken. The soft sounds of boots across his marble floor alerted him that the intruder was coming from the front entrance. How very bold. Lifting his clawed fingers he let his power rush out and the torches illuminated the throne room. Orange light flickered and danced, bringing to light the tall marble pillars that lined the room. Their polished surfaces reflected the flames and it made it seem like the room was on fire.

Standing in the middle of it was a hooded and cloaked figure, the only thing giving him away was a single symbol of silver etched on his chest. The symbol was that of a dragons claw curling around nine rings. Torak relaxed in the chair as he stared at the man whose face he'd never seen.

"J'haren. It's been a while. Couldn't get away from the Nine?"

Though Torak couldn't see the smile, he felt it. A slight chill crept up his spine as he glowered at the man before him. Slowly the Nine made his way up towards the throne where he stood at Torak's right side. J'haren folded his hands behind his back as he let out a soft sigh before speaking.

"We're very busy you see. The Order of Vyldi is fighting desperately with the Order of Riena on the matter of social display of power. Of course, I must agree with Lord V'lyn on the whole matter of showing magic to the public. Keep it hidden any longer and it'll be forgotten by those who are not gifted. That will ruin everything."

Torak gave a snort of irritation, "As if the Order of Vyldi will consent to that."

J'haren shrugged, "They won't have much a choice the way I see it. We all know how much power that assassin wields. The Nine are not much farther behind. We too agree with him and the more we pressure the mages, the more they will bend, until they break."

"They won't break soon enough."

"Perhaps not. But all it takes is a push," J'haren leaned down to whisper the last part to Torak. The elf slowly sat up as he turned his beady gaze upwards to look at the Nine. No matter where he stood or sat, no matter what light was in the room, he could never see under that dark cowl of the man who stood next to him. Torak frowned as he slowly put his arm back up on the throne chair and rested his chin in his hand.

"You're saying I should display some power? Huh, already done that."

"To V'lyn. Probably the worst person to reveal your power too. You're too hasty, Torak. That is where rulers fall. Patience is key."

"I've no patience left."

"Then you'll die," J'haren's sharp reply caused Torak to suck in a deep breath and look sharply up to him.

"You're an annoyance as always, J'haren."

"And yet, you still keep me around."

Torak rolled his eyes as he turned his gaze back to the front of the empty throne room. Silence issued between them and soon Torak was back to his brooding. J'haren never moved, and it was almost unnerving to sense the man's presence right next to him but not hear him at all. There wasn't even the sound of breathing filling the air, only Torak's steady thrum of fingers on the throne chair and his heavy breath in and out of his nose.

"The elf. What did you do with him?"

"I'd kept him in the dungeons, but V'lyn's bitch managed to break him out somehow."

"Careful there, Torak. I wouldn't advise invoking the Lady Jennifer's wrath. Of the two dangers, she's the worst. Though both of them hold the power of the Old God's, Lord V'lyn's body can't withstand the power. Thus he has to share it with her in order to continue living, dragons blood or not. Because she is a powerful mage, a prodigy even, she can handle both her own Godly power and his. With the dragon blood in her system as well, she is more than a match for you as you are now, Torak. Should that woman so wish, she could level all the cities in Lastra in a single day," J'haren turned ever so slightly to put his unseen gaze on Torak, "And she wouldn't even sweat while doing it."

Torak felt another chill spread across his body. His hand clenched into a fist once more as he sat there, glaring at the door and refusing to make eye contact with the Nine. That woman... was a serious problem to him.

"How do I get rid of her?"

"You don't."

Torak growled in frustration, "You're damned helpful."

"I'm speaking truthfully. Lady Jennifer isn't someone you just get rid of. Nor is she one whom you can use people as leverage against. She'd much rather kill you painfully than deal with you in the long term. No, she's much to smart for that, too dangerous to meddle with and far too cunning than a woman should be. I suggest leaving her alone as much as possible. That includes the Lord V'lyn. Harm him and you'll bring down her wrath. But, enough of those two powers. We'll deal with them when the time comes and when you're much stronger. Our problem still lies with the elf. Should anyone realize his true identity then the game is over. Should he realize his true identity, the same applies. Though I've received word from Ro'ell."

"About what?"

"Apparently Lady Jennifer is sending some of her assassins to speak to the Order regarding a few matters. I assume that our elf will be going there as well. If I were him, I'd be looking for some answers as to why I was thrown into a dungeon cell."

Torak's lips pulled into a smile, "Well then. Perhaps its about time that man felt the power of the Nine."

J'haren shifted his body ever so slightly, the same chill from before coursing through the stewards back told him that the Nine had a cold smile on his lips once more, "Perhaps."

Muahahahahahaha!!!! *Draws sword and chops double post into itty bitty pieces*

Talon V'lyn

He listened intently to the man named Khrae as he explained their situation and why they'd come to Skyfall to seek an audience with Talon. His eyebrow lifted at the finish of his speech and he sighed heavily as he brought up his arm to his chin, fingers curled slightly as he rested there. It seemed that he was not the only one curious as to what transpired at Lethandrill, though for better or worse, this new group was going to get involved. Talon figured even if he denied the man's request they'd somehow be dragged into it anyways. Might as well grant it that way he knew what the two men were doing and where they were. Something he'd begun to be a bit of a pessimist about.

He didn't answer the man's thoughts though, instead he turned his attention to the other man standing at the back of the room and waited patiently for him to introduce himself and speak about why he was there. It took the other man a while, but soon his name was given and afterwards an explanation as to why he had jumped into the fight with Torak amongst other information. Xander seemed to be at a loss for really explaining himself, especially as to what and who he was. Even to Talon as he removed his helm and showed his strange ears, he was unsure as to what race this man was. In all of his years he'd never seen one quite like Xander.

"I wonder where I've heard that before," Talon muttered, his gaze shooting to Jennifer at Xander's last statement.

With another inward sigh Talon pushed himself off the desk he'd been leaning on and steadily moved towards the door where the knocking had issued after Khrae had finished his explanation. The only reason the assassin hadn't answered was because he was in the middle of listening to the two men. He pulled the door opened and witnessed both his assassin's as well as the young elf that they'd saved from Lethandrill. He nodded to them, but to Astrid he frowned deeply at her before turning sideways and allowing them inside.

"Take a seat," he ordered them all, his voice soft but firm. Once they were inside, he closed the door and walked back to the desk where he seated himself, one leg up off the ground, the other balancing himself whilst sitting there. Talon crossed his arms over his chest and looked about at the group in the small room. Finally his gaze settled on Jennifer for a long while as he thought things over. He knew that she hadn't wanted the strangers to know of their intentions to go to Ro'ell and get answers, but it seemed that there was no other way around it. With a shrug he finally turned back to them and started talking.

"It seems that keeping things under my own jurisdiction has become impossible," he started, "Torak has indeed invoked a lot of curiosity from all of us it seems. No matter what I say to you, I feel that you're all going to get involved one way or another," his eyes settled on Xander for a few seconds longer than the others, "I suppose having more than just my two assassin's dealing with this would be helpful. That'll include the Navile woman as well," his eyes dropped to the floor as his thoughts swiveled to the dragon woman who'd threatened him outside. His lips upturned wickedly as he eyes narrowed, a dangerous aura slowly welling up inside him, "And the insolent dragoness outside too, I suppose," he muttered.

"Khrae, it seems that the dragoness is somewhat attached to your student. She's your responsibility, I suggest making it clear to her that should she threaten me again she'll find living to see tomorrows dawn a difficult prospect. Dragon or not, unless she's one of the Old Dragon God's... she doesn't stand a chance," his eyes narrowed further, the silver bracer around his wrist pulsed lightly. Turning he looked to Jennifer, "Don't go picking a fight with her either. She's yet to actually attack me or someone else within the Order. But keeping a close eye on her would be wise," he finished quietly, "My guild is not going to become a battle field, not if I can help it."

Talon took a moment to visibly calm himself from that irritation before continuing, "Ro'ell is your destination. I'm sure Jennifer has already sent word ahead of you. You should be expected once you get there. You're to look into the whereabouts of Domieen's gauntlet, what kind of power its capable of and any other information you deem fitting to gather. That'll include anything about your own heritage," he spoke directly to Xander for that, "I'll be sending Sebastian as well. He's your leader, you'll do as he says. Especially you, Astrid. Once you've gotten everything you need, return here and report back to myself or Jennifer. One or both of us will be here. We'll figure things out from there. You leave as soon as you're all ready, meet at the entrance with Sebastian, he'll get everything else ready for you."

Talon stood up off the desk, his signal that they were all free to leave. Once they'd gone he turned to Jennifer as it was only her and him left in the room. He offered her a smile as he moved and leaned down to kiss her forehead, "I suppose now would be a good time to go get some rest hu? Preferably before you decide it's a good idea to tie me down, yes?" He rested his head against hers and let out a deep sigh. He was utterly tired, "I'll retire to our room if you could let Sebastian know of his orders?"

Fay X'san

The loud call from the Lord V'lyn startled her, but she was happy for his intervention as well as the taller man's course of action as well. She'd never seen such a creature before as the one that stood before her. The shorter woman was covered in scales in various places of her body and she looked almost like a cute child who was having a temper tantrum, except her fit was a bit more scary than most. Fay stood up from her place on the ground and watched the dragon-like creature curiously. As Talon was leaving with the two men, the dragon cursed at the man and Fay's eyes widened.

The assassin didn't reply to the woman and Fay felt it was probably a good thing seeing as they were in his territory. Her eyes jumped between the dragon girl and the Lord V'lyn. When they were alone, Fay put a finger to her lower lip and leaned forward as she gazed at the girl before her.

"You know... I don't think its wise to threaten a man of his standing... especially since we're in his home you know..." Fay's cheeks flushed slightly as she realized that the girl before her was absolutely adorable. Her earlier startlement faded away as she smiled fondly at the dragon-like human and she lunged forward, wrapping her arms around the woman, "Oh! You're so cute!" Fay cuddled the dragon creature close to her her hands fondly running through her blue hair as she cooed to the girl, "I've never seen anything like you before, you're so adorable! What's your name? I'm Fay. Oh! Cute!"

"Heh," Capella chuckled, smirking as the assassin walked away without a word. For a moment, she lounged about in the tree, looking as though she would simply do so the entire time she stayed there. But, although she did value a good contract, there was nothing that said a dragon couldn't use dishonest means as well as more truthful ones. A sneer broke out across her features as she rose from the branch she had been lounging on, and dropped softly to the ground, already unfolding her wings. Hah! Those stupid Humans were so gullible, weren't they? Who said she had to be inside to listen to their meeting? Clearly, they didn't know exactly how keen her ears were! It would be a simple matter to just follow the scent of Dante, wafting through the windows - one she'd memorized during her hours carrying him to Skyfall in the first place - and thus trace his path to roughly the area of roof just above whatever room they were using for their meeting. From there, she'd just need to keep an ear to the ground - literally - and she'd be able to listen in on their proceedings with impunity! Although she probably could have just asked Dante afterward, she had a feeling he wouldn't remember much of importance, given his temperament, and Khrae, on the other hand, would sooner die than give such a suspicious individual as herself any important information, especially anything pertaining to the power that interested her so much. This option, although a little more risky, would be pretty simple - so long as she cloaked her power, they wouldn't even know she was there - and infinitely more effective. And, being a dragon who had an eye for practicality, this course of action was obviously her first choice.

Unfolding her wings, she braced herself to lift off when, abruptly, both her concentration and her plans were shattered by something she never could have predicted. The Naville, who she had expected to have gone to the meeting by now - she had, after all, last been seen as a part of the group, so the Dragoness had just assumed she was one of the assassins or their allies - abruptly stepped right in front of her, leaning condescendingly down to address the Dragoness. What, was that a subtle way of implying she was short? She was perfectly happy with her size! There was no reason whatsoever to talk down to her! Who did this Naville girl think she was treating like she was so small that when you took her to a flea circus you had to put a leash on her so you didn't mix her up with the fleas?! Capella was a dragon, the great and feared Grey Sword! She wouldn't stand for being treated like a child! She'd break off this impertinent Naville's legs and use her scales to stitch them onto her head!

Sadly, and to the Dragoness' intense frustration, she never got the chance. Her beginning retort to the woman's incredibly condescending tone was drowned out by the Naville's considerably louder squeal. Completely oblivious to the aura of pure rage that was building around Capella, she suddenly dived forward and proceeded to ensnare the now quite furious dragon in some kind of ridiculous tackle hug, petting her head like one might treat a particularly beloved puppy and cooing joyously about how adorable she was. This... was unprecedented, to say the least. For perhaps the first time since she had earned her reputation of fear and power amongst the Humans, Capella was momentarily completely unable to comprehend what was going on, experiencing a reaction that some part of her idly realized was actually quite similar to most Humans and their thoughts upon meeting her.

WHAT IN THE NAME OF DOMIEEN THE GREYFATHER IS THIS...? THIS NAVILLE... THIS... WHAT... IN... HOW... WHY... CAN'T... DISGRACEFUL... PREPOSTEROUS... INSULTING... Capella thought, almost incoherent with bafflement. Finally, she realized that she should probably be trying to get free, and so began squirming and, when this failed, attempting to force her way from the elven half-breed's grasp.

...

K'TASK CREVSS MAK GRATR SSISMAK NYHESSS! WHY THE HELL CAN'T I BREAK FREE?! IS THIS SOME KIND OF UNKNOWN MAGIC?! Capella let loose a string of incoherently strung together draconic curses, both in her own mind and aloud. For some reason she couldn't even begin to fathom, she was literally unable to escape this insane woman's hold on her until she actively began exerting the strength of her dragon body, power dancing along the scales of her arms as, straining with the effort, she wrenched the woman's hands off of her and swiftly disengaged herself, bounding several feet away, then leaping back once again, not trusting the distance between them until it was quite large.

"W-wh..." Capella gasped, eyes going golden and bloodshot as she stared with rage and disbelief at the innocent-seeming entity of complete nonsense that stood before her. For a moment, she tried to come up with a response to the situation she was faced with, but was literally speechless. Her mouth opened, gasping out the beginning syllables of some word, then closed again as she second-guessed herself, unsure of exactly what she should do in this situation. But, one thing was sure: this was disgraceful and insulting, and belittled her, a great and mature dragon, as though she were a mere hatchling. So, deciding that the most likely emotion she should be feeling right now was indignant rage, she settled on this and, pointing a clawed finger accusingly at the offender, let loose with an angry tirade.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" She screeched, her plans to listen in on the meeting momentarily forgotten as she flushed an angry and embarrassed shade of red and began her rant. "Just who do you think I am?! I'm Capella, the Grey Sword, terror of the northern lands and final heiress of a great and mighty tribe! How dare you show such disrespect...?! Treating me like a mere hatchling... I ought to tear you to ribbons where you stand, incinerate the remains, then burn the ashes, fly into the sky, then spread them to the winds over the surrounding thousand miles, just for good measure! Now take that back, or I swear, I really will kill you! I'm not 'cute,' 'adorable,' or any similarly condescending adjective your puny mortal mind might possibly come up with! So stop that! Stop looking at me like that! In fact, stop looking at me altogether! Stop acting like I'm a child, and above all else, STOP TREATING ME LIKE SOME KIND OF PET!" Capella howled, old memories of past disgrace welling up within her, burning into a passionate fury and directing themselves solely at this "Fay" girl. If this was her idea of a joke, then in Capella's opinion, it wasn't funny.

Naville, I swear. If you even take one step towards me, assume that expression in my general direction that shows you're thinking of trying it, or otherwise insinuate that you might possibly even dream of hugging me at some point in the future, I swear, I will burn you until not even your own mother would recognize the body. And then I will laugh. I will laugh very loud, and for a very long time. Possibly for days. And then I'll stop, take a nap, and dream of doing it all over again. Then I'll wake up, and laugh again. And then, I will forget that this event ever occurred. Possibly through percussive means.

...

RrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH! How shameful, how shameful, how shameful...! How is it even possible for something like this to happen?! How can you even look at someone like me and say 'cute' when everyone else says 'monster?'

...

Still... I guess it's not all bad. At least it's a step up from 'laughable freak...'

...

I hate Humans. I hate them so very, very much.

Fay X'san

Her eyes widened as the girl wriggled out of her grasp and began yelling at her. She didn't feel frightened if anything, the girl's explosion was even more adorable and Fay's light blush deepened. She raised her fingers to her lips as she watched the dragonlike woman with awe. She was absolutely adorable. Oh, if only Fay could take this child into her care, she would pamper the girl, love her to death and do anything she wanted, give her anything she wanted.

Fay straightened herself and stood, her eyes still locked on the girls infuriated features. A smile began brewing on her lips as she gazed at the woman, "Oh, so adorable. Cuter when you're angry. Oh, I think I'm in love with you, such beauty and elegance... cuter than anything I've ever seen," Fay continued, turning her head sideways and resting it in the palm of her hand as she gazed dreamily at the dragon.

“Capella, what’s wrong?” The voice startled her as she hadn't noticed the man coming back out from the building. Apparently their meeting was over and she had missed it all. Not that she was particularly interested, Fay knew they were going to Ro'ell. When was all that she was worried about. She turned her eyes to the taller man and smiled gently.

"It is my fault... I provoked her. But isn't she adorable? I've never seen something quite like her before. She's absolutely beautiful," Fay tried to explain, but the ever darkening expression on the dragon like girls face wasn't fading away. From the doorway of the building, another voice rang out, calling across the courtyard.

"So, I'm putting 10 on the Grey Sword, you in or what?" A woman with brilliant red hair and a dragon draped over her shoulder was grinning at the woman whose name was Fukayna if Fay remembered correctly. The Navile raised an eyebrow as she looked at the red haired girl then back at Capella. She was confused, but didn't mention anything else. Her eyes turned back to the red haired girl just as an elder looking man walked out and landed his closed fist on the top of her head whilst giving her a sour look.

"If you're quite done, Astrid," he stated simply and crossed his arms, "We leave for Ro'ell now. I've got your horses and other provisions ready. Come quickly, all of you. There's no time to waste, and Lady Jennifer hates to be kept waiting than what is necessary," with that the old man turned on his heel, took the red haired girls arm in hand and tugged her with him. Fay watched the exchange curiously. So, this Astrid was probably someone they all knew there, which made her an assassin. She was quite young, like Fukayna.

Her interests shifting quickly, she easily forgot about Capella and walked after the man who'd called to them. She moved into the large room that seemed to be the gathering place of all of the assassins and other people that she'd remembered seeing in the meeting before hand. The man named Xander with his stone arm was quite interesting to her, she wondered what his heritage was and what his business was with the Lord V'lyn. Then there was the elf named Armen who was there as well looking much better than he had the first time she'd seen him.

Fukayna, Astrid, Capella and the other two men were there as well. Fay felt a bit crowded as she stood there, not used to so many people in a group. Were they all really going to Ro'ell? What purpose was it to send so many? Or maybe some were going because they wanted to and it had nothing to do with V'lyn's orders? Perhaps it was something else, and those that were going had more to do with the terrible actions in Lethandrill than she thought. Either way, it was a full group and it was going to be very interesting.

"To those that don't know, I'm Sebastian. I'm what you would call a Captain among the assassins and I'm your guide to Ro'ell. The Order of Vyldi is expecting us, so there should be no problems. I'm not your babysitter and I'm not your friend," Sebastian stated coldly and Fay felt a chill over her skin, "We're there to do business and nothing more. Now if you're all ready, we're leaving," he turned and opened the front doors wide. The old assassin mounted his horse and turned the beast to head towards Skyfall's gates. Fay did the same, mounting a gray mere and followed suit. It was going to be a long ride, she might as well make the best of it.

Three Days Later

Armen Soren

He'd gotten used to the people around him in the three days it took to reach Ro'ell. Many of them were friendly, some were a bit colder than the others though. He found that Capella enjoyed moving about them without her scale coverings and distracting the young boy named Dante. His mentor, Khrae was much more versed at keeping his concentration that his pupil and Armen found that intriguing especially since he himself found it hard to concentrate around Capella when she was in one of those moods.

Astrid and her dragon Stephano were entertaining to listen to, though at times he felt he could throw just about anything at the red haired girl who'd done her fair share of romping about the campsite and making a racket at inconvenient times. The Navile woman, Fay was a mystery. She was beautiful though and seemed to be like a little child as she rode with them. Everything was amazing to her, or beautiful. Capella seemed to keep a distance from her though and often Armen had seen Fay's face flush red as she set eyes on the little dragon woman.

Apparently the Navile thought that Capella was 'adorable' and should be coddled at just about any opportunity. Armen was surprised that Capella hadn't set the woman on fire yet for the many times that Fay had caught her up in her arms and cooed at her with such loving fondness. Perhaps Capella wasn't as cold hearted as she made herself out to be, especially since she'd made so many threats to Fay during such cuddling opportunities.

Fukayna was another mystery that intrigued him. She was ever silent, but she often spoke to him via her writing. He learned that she was a recent recruit for the assassin's guild and had gone through a kind of sparring test with Lord V'lyn in order to go with him and Jennifer to the city of Lethandrill. To have been able to win in such a match, Armen was sure she was very proficient with her weapon, not to mention very beautiful. He often found himself watching her as they rode and the moment she turned her head to look to him, he'd look away quickly at something else. The elf hadn't seen her eyes ever since meeting her, and he pondered almost constantly at what color they were. Eyes were so beautiful, they spoke louder than any words or anything else. They were like looking straight into a persons thoughts. At least, that's how he thought of it.

Finally, there was Xander. The silent enigma of a man who seemed to be lost just about as much as Armen felt. Probably more so. The stone gauntlet was intriguing, and the elf wondered what it was exactly. Along with the staff as well that Xander carried. The man didn't look the part of a beggar as he so claimed to be. He was lithe in build, well muscled and looked as if he'd seen his fair share of fighting. Armen didn't doubt his abilities either.

That concluded the group that he found himself with as they rode into the city of Ro'ell. The power there radiated through the air, thick and almost too heavy. Perhaps it was just him, but he noted that even Fay looked a little bit affected by it as well. He was attuned to magic after all, and so was the Navile woman. Though, he hadn't really developed his yet, so he relied more on swords to get through a fight. He wasn't sure about Fay though, but stories told that many of the Navile didn't know how to wield their power. It was an almost frightening concept.

Armen followed their guide, Sebastian of the Order of Reina and Lord V'lyn's right hand man. They moved through the streets of Ro'ell with relative ease and soon they were upon the orders main building itself. Five spires rose up from the large complex. One in each corner and the fifth, and largest, rose in the middle. Armen wasn't sure what each spire was for, but he'd heard rumors that different factions of the order resided in each spire and there were different departments that were assigned separate tasks as well. He was sure he'd find out soon enough once they entered at least about a little of the Order of Vyldi.

Sebastian led the way into the building and was met by several robed men. They were armed and so Armen figured they were guards of some sort. They asked Sebastian several questions which the assassin answered quickly and effectively. They were told to wait in the lobby part of the citadel, the buildings fifth spire. Armen stood near the staircase that wound ever upwards, his eyes scanning the many books on the shelf before him. He wondered who it was they were going to meet, and what kind of answers he could get to his many questions.

"WHAT. THE. HELL?!" Capella roared, turning to Khrae as the Naville continued to babble insulting adjectives incoherently, causing the Dragoness' rage to spike yet again. "This maniac keeps cooing over me, and even trying to hug me!" She explained quickly. "She's clearly insane, not to mention insulting! I swear, I am two seconds away from carving out her tongue and feeding it to her! You don't mind if I do, right? I know I'm bound by contract not to cause any incidents - painful though that agreement might be - but there have got to be exceptions, right? There are certain things that I simply cannot let stand!" She protested, but to no avail. By the time she'd finished protesting, several assassins had emerged from the building and dragged the infuriating creature off for whatever reason. Cooling her temper as best she could, Capella took a deep breath, trying to calm the raging flush of anger that burned across her face, not to mention the abyssal flames that danced with suppressed anger across her scales.

"So..." She said at last. "I assume this means that meeting you came all this way for was a success?"

...

Because every travel sequence needs this BGM. =P

It turned out that the answer to this question was, predictably, yes. In fact, the two chaps she'd whimsically decided to travel with had evidently been so successful at whatever they came for - she was still a little miffed that she hadn't been able to spy on them, on that note - that they'd actually been recruited by the Order of Riena. And, apparently, "they" also included "her," as evidently her contract to escort them extended to their trip to Ro'ell. This was... rather problematic, as the Order of Vyldi had been hunting Capella for at least the past several years. But, she supposed, she couldn't simply leave. She had yet to claim the boy as her own treasure, which meant she'd just have to continue traveling with the group, even if that meant dropping herself right into the lion's den, so to speak.

Over the next three days, not much happened. She ended up forced into the sky once or twice by that crazy Naville, who never seemed willing to let her catch a break, but, although she desperately wanted to roast her alive for her insolence, she was sadly forbidden from doing so by Khrae. So, she just settled for snatching up Dante and carrying him on flights while she waited for the manic elf to go find something else to do. The boy didn't mind, and, in the process, she managed to get at least a little bit more information on what exactly they were doing. Although, considering his attention span, these fragments were hardly very useful. But, then again, by the sound of things, she'd probably have been bored to tears as well. Having had to suffer being pushed around by uptight Humans for so long, she could understand how he felt fairly well.

There hadn't been many issues, aside from Fay's rather disturbing tendency to stalk her and try to tackle-hug her when she least expected it, but she was a wily and experienced predator, and it took a lot more than these degradations to get the best of her. She had amused herself by toying with the boy, and, aside from this, had largely avoided the rest of the party. The assassins held no interest to her, and that red haired brat with her little pet were a duo she took particular caution to avoid. Although the dragon had sworn to keep her secret, he could not fully be trusted, as he was sharing his mind with such a prying, bothersome Human. Were he to even think overly much about her, he might inadvertently share information better left untold. And then, of course, she would have to gorily murder both him and his master, and possibly everyone else in the caravan save the boy, just to keep her secret. Of course, then she'd need to find some way of either shutting his lips or wiping his memories of the incident - probably the latter, as she had a feeling that he wouldn't take such a bloodbath very well - but that would just have to be done.

Fortunately, things never came to that. The dragon kept his word, and thus managed to survive her potential wrath. And so, the journey passed in relative peace. Within a few days, they were within sight of their destination. And, naturally, that was where the fun started.

.....

Capella had managed to enter the city without much trouble. It had been a simple matter to fly over the walls while the guards were preoccupied with the party just arriving. Landing in a small alley, she'd crept through the backstreets, hiding in the shadows and trailing the group she was supposed to be traveling with. Finally, she'd made it to the gates of the order itself, and slipped back into the rear of the group without anyone taking much notice. Of course, this only worked to a certain extent. For example, after everyone else had just been ushered inside, things got a little awkward.

.....

"W-wait, what?!" The guard exclaimed, turning only to see a face that was, coincidentally, mirrored on a nearby bounty board hanging next to the door. Capella smiled cheerfully, as though completely oblivious of the situation as the man leveled his spear and jumped back, as though expecting to be incinerated with hellfire if he stood on the spot he had occupied for a moment longer.

"Hi," She said, giving a fanged grin as she was quickly surrounded. Despite this, she didn't even bother uncrossing her arms or unfolding her wings, instead simply standing in place, calmly smirking at the Humans surrounding her. "I'm Capella the Grey Sword. I like to torment Humans, carry off their livestock, and occasionally rough up some of your mages when they get a little too cocky and try to take me into custody."

"S-somebody call for backup! What the hell is this monster doing here?!" One of the guards screamed pathetically. Almost imperceptibly, Capella's eyes narrowed, slitting vertically down their pupils as her smirk twisted into a cruel grin. The air grew noticeably hotter as black flames began licking her scales.

"Oh, that won't be necessary. I just came here to check out the library. And possibly save the world. I don't know. These Humans weren't really clear on that. Point is, I'm with them." She smirked, pointing to the assembled group of assassins as the guards looked back and forth to each other with confusion.

"Y-you'll have to wait here. We need to confir-"

"Tell me, young man, do you know why you should never tell a dragon what she 'has' to do?" Capella hissed, her voice suddenly low and menacing. The man gulped anxiously, shaking his head slowly. "Well, then, allow me to enlighten you. It tends to make our kind rather angry. Do you know what happens when you make a dragon angry?" This time, the man nodded emphatically. Capella smiled coolly. "Good. Then I suppose you aren't completely braindead. Now, then, if you'll excuse me, something interesting is afoot, and I intend to find out what it is." Ducking under a spear, she passed out from amidst the baffled guards, ignoring them as they rushed about, trying to send out warnings and ask for confirmations about her presence. She merely sighed.

"Ah. Checkpoints. The Humans' tiresome answer to curiosity. How quaint. Maybe if they just got a dragon to guard the door, they wouldn't have these sorts of problems. Of course, they'd have to submit to him or her as members of a hoard, but with idiots like these, they deserve it anyway." She grinned at Dante, and her threatening aura subsided once more. "So, shall we be going? We should probably find what we need before they decide to try their hands at burning to death in dragonfire. From what I gather, anyway, suicidally trying to slay dragons is some kind of time-honored sport, what you mortals refer to as 'nobility.' Where I come from, we call it 'stupidity.' But, I suppose Humans are such an erroneous breed, I really can't expect much more from them. Oh well." She smiled cheerily, wrapping an arm over the shoulders of her Human. "That's what I like about you!" She declared amicably. "You know better than the rest of your species."

Fukayna Muidrehd

There had not been much time to think, between the interruption of the fight between the navile and the dragoness by the tall swordsman--and the sudden weight around her shoulders as the fiery headed Astrid smirked at the activity. Fukayna wrinkled her nose, frowning over at her sister assassin, already becoming accustomed to the fact that this girl had the rare ability to appear anywhere at any time. Questioning this concrete fact would be like trying to question the laws of physics. You couldn't fight against gravity, after all. An off-handed comment by Astrid, something pertaining to bets, only seemed to rile the dragoness more, who raised her voice to outrageous volumes as she screamed at the tall man.

The winged girl was nothing like Stephano, who seemed calm albeit sarcastic at times, particularly when his rider was around. She scratched at the back of her head, wondering if she should perhaps deign to depart from the conversation (which admittedly seemed to be spinning out of control). She was saved from the awkward decision when the older assassin she had met earlier, Sebastian, hit Astrid upside the head. The girl gave a surprised yelp as she was hit, oh, she was capable of feeling pain? Odd, Fukayna hadn't thought she was, considering the fiery woman had run into a wall with a bucket on her head--according to a story she had heard anyway.

"If you're quite done, Astrid, we leave for Ro'ell now. I've got your horses and other provisions ready. Come quickly, all of you. There's no time to waste, and Lady Jennifer hates to be kept waiting than what is necessary." With the curt words, he proceeded to drag the zealous assassin off, who went screaming and protesting the whole way. Fukayna blushed a portion, not having ever heard such colorful language used in quite a manner. Casting one more look at the trio, she shrugged, figuring it was best to just listen to Sebastian. They'd all regroup later anyway and perhaps she'd have a chance to speak to the dragoness all about how she kept her wings to beautiful.

She turned on her heel, adjusting her halberd in her hand before progressing towards the gates of the entrance. As she neared, she noticed Astrid trying to explain to Sebastian that they were clearly friends and that the bet had all been a joke. Oh dear.... Fukayna sighed and approached the duo, noting that Armen was already there. She smiled at him kindly, his manner a breath of fresh air after all the activity of the day. Astrid had a bit too much energy for her and the others, well, she had no idea how to interpret them. She silently walked over to him, standing a little nervously next to the elf. He was taller than she, much like many she had come in contact with, but his presence was comforting.

It wasn't long before the others showed up as well, the navile girl being the last one to complete their entourage. Upon seeing this, Sebastian cleared his throat, addressing everyone. "To those that don't know, I'm Sebastian. I'm what you would call a Captain among the assassins and I'm your guide to Ro'ell. The Order of Vyldi is expecting us, so there should be no problems. I'm not your babysitter and I'm not your friend. We're there to do business and nothing more. Now if you're all ready, we're leaving," Huh? Leaving? But what about Miss...? The man was already mounting his horse and riding the beast out of the gates, leaving everyone else to follow suit.

Fukayna faltered a bit--horses, again? Oh, how terrible she was at riding the things... Fortunately, she'd gotten a bit smoother with getting on the animal this time around and did so without any assistance. She felt pretty proud of herself... up until she tumbled forwards in her saddle when the horse began to gallop. How utterly embarrassing. Her cheeks were coated with crimson for the beginning of the trip, the silver-haired woman hoping privately that no one was laughing at her.

As they rode, she found company in the form of Armen, who had chosen to have his horse trot next to hers. The pace was slow enough for her to manage scribbling on her pad, answered many of his questions. Many of which simply asking after how she had been chosen to go to Lethandrill in the first place and how the Order of Riena functioned. She answered every inquiry quite willingly, charmed that he found her interesting enough to speak to for such a length of time. She was in the midst of writing a response when another horse's trot made her look up. It was Astrid, the girl waggling her eyebrows at her; pointing first to Armen, then at Fukayna, and then grinning as widely as the cheshire cat. It took Fukayna only a few moments to process what the woman was implying and her blush heightened to turn her whole entire face red. Astrid cackled and continued to trot in front of them, slowly though as the woman continued to insinuate things.

Now thoroughly ruffled, her writing faltered and she looked down at her horse, unable to meet Armen's gaze. The rest of the journey passed by in subsequent silence, for any conversation beyond the one they had was interrupted by Astrid. (Somehow, the woman had taught her horse to trot backwards as well...?) Mortified and progressively growing more and more flustered, Fukayna began to get anxious for them to reach their destination, if only to avoid Astrid's odd gestures and ideas. H-Honestly, it wasn't like that.

===============================================================================

===============================================================================

Isaehn Raxieyl

Isaehn stood out on the balcony, gazing at the sky with a rather devious expression, mind racing as he pondered over the possible outcome of the meeting. He had purposely left his door unlocked once he had heard the scrambling in the hallways, anticipating that the group from the Order of Riena had arrived. His suspicions were confirmed as there was a quick knock on his doorway followed by a pause, and then the hesitant turn of the knob as his door was slowly opened. The man turned slightly, eyes falling on the guard who seemingly wilted under the gaze.

"S-Sir, they've arrived.... We, er, told them to wait in the lobby of the citadel but..." Isaehn had never been one for banter and put his hands into his pockets, raising an eyebrow. The partial disappearance of his smirk told the guard that the mage was less than pleased with the hesitation, the sentry rushing over his words. "T-That is to... to say um... there is... well, there are two really that are a cause for--that is, um..." Isaehn rolled his eyes and gave a flick of his wrist, speaking with a bored and flat tone.

"What use are you if you cannot even tell me of the proceedings in the lobby? Leave my presence, you may decrease my brain cell count the more you spout your nonsense." The guard was too nervous to look offended as he practically slammed the door behind him in his effort to get out of the presence of the reaper. The man yawned, unsurprised and rather used to this behavior. He looked back over his shoulder, shrugging a little and extending his hand outwards behind him. "Come, Zephyr, this is an important meeting and it would be a shame for you to miss it." The dragon in question had been laying some meters outside the balcony, casually awaiting the orders from his rider as to whether or not he was dismissed. The dragon raised it's head and stretched it's long neck so that it's snout brushed against Isaehn's outstretched fingers.

The mage muttered in a low tone under his breath, invoking his manipulation magic. The familiar, glowing circles of texts and symbols surrounded his hands as he cast the spell upon his dragon. With one final utterance, Zephyr closed his eyes as the magic overtook his large body, transforming the large creature into one that was not nearly comparable in size. Isaehn smirked at his handiwork as he nodded his approval, his dragon now in the form of a human male. Zephyr regarded his rider quietly, using a newly formed finger to scratch at the faded scar on his chin.

"That special of an occasion, I take it?" The masculine voice was soft-spoken, carrying with it faint scatterings of amusement. Isaehn pushed his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose and yawned, choosing to ignore his dragon's comment and striding out of his room. He didn't have to bother checking to see if Zephyr was following---though silent, his companion would never leave his side unless otherwise ordered. The mage walked through the halls, taking note of the activity of the guards, who seemed besides themselves over some commotion in the citadel. It didn't interest him enough, however, and he merely kept up his pace as he crossed down the pathway leading directly to the lobby.

He took a deep breath, settling his features into something more friendly as he opened the large doors, the slow, creaking noise enough to get anyone's attention. The first thing that caught his eyes, however, was the bobbing figure of a red-headed girl was was sniffing a vase. A very priceless vase. She pushed it casually with one of her fingers, nudging it slightly and allowing it to topple. The shattering crash did not make Isaehn wince, however, he did narrow his eyes at the girl in a very discontent glare. If he had to guess, that clutz was none other than Astrid, the notorious troublemaker of Riena. He drew his attentions away from her, privately registering each guest of the order as he gazed at them. He noted the Navile, now there was a target of intrigue, her bloodline always managed to produce entertaining results.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zephyr tense slightly and followed the dragon's eyesight to the figure of a girl with wings, one whom could resemble a dragon if not for her human shape. He did not linger his sights on her for long, moving his eyes to the older man near the bookshelf who must've been Sebastian, the right-hand man of V'lyn. Ah, so he was the one heading this operation, not the infamous Jennifer. There was an elven boy who seemed to be looking at him inquisitively, wide eyes curiously peering at the mage. Hm, so nosy. He continued along, flicking his gaze over the two swordsman to the man oddly in beggar's clothing. Quite the colorful bunch, quite quite.

His smile widened as at last he looked at the girl he had been most curious to see, whose shoulders shot up to her ears the instant their gazes met. Fukayna fumbled with the weapon in her hands and looked down at her feet, meekly shaking her head. He could not help but let an amused light fall into his eyes. By the way the others weren't openly staring at her, she clearly had not informed them of her origins in Vyldi. Oh, this was going to be delicious fun indeed. He strode till he was just feet from the group, speaking in velvet tones.

"Welcome to the Order of Vyldi--I trust your journey was not too strenuous?" A gruff nod from Sebastian confirmed this statement and Isaehn continued. "My name is Isaehn Raxieyl and you may address my companion as Zephyr. I am sure you've all got your own sets of questions and all will be answered to the best of my ability in due course. No doubt the most pressing of these issues is Domieen's Gauntlet, I wager." He was merely being polite, Isaehn already knew full well that this was the main reason why the order had requested his presence. "I will speak with Sebastian first, the rest of you may busy yourselves among the literature until our return. It would be best for you to ready your questions so this visit goes smoothly. Zephyr, do entertain our guests in case they get bored. And..." He trailed off, now looking directly at Fukayna. The girl shifted, breath hitching as he did so. Isaehn walked over to her, casually putting a finger beneath her chin and tilting her head upwards.

"It's lovely to see you again, Fukayna dear." He retracted his touch, gesturing to Sebastian to follow him into the study. He chuckled under his breath, knowing his words were sure to incite some interesting reactions from the guests. The older assassin walked a few paces behind them as the two entered the study, the mage shutting the door quietly behind him. His smirk never left his lips as he crossed over to the desk, sitting down in the chair and giving a flick of his wrist at the seat on the other side to let Sebastian know he could sit down.

"As requested, I preformed research on Domieen's Gauntlet. From the texts I have read, this piece of equipment holds the old god's power," Isaehn stated carefully, looking at Sebastian evenly over the rim of his glasses. "And as you can guess from your ward, V'lyn, it grants its wearer quite a bit of power. But I'm sure you already knew this," He added with a chuckle. "So tell me, what did you wish to inquire after?"

Armen Sorien

The voice startled him as he looked up from the shelving to see a youthful looking man walking down the stairs. With the man was another and Armen got the feeling that the being walking beside the mage wasn't human at all. He arched an eyebrow as he gazed at the man steadily, inspecting him as he moved down into the midst of the group. It seemed that the mage wasn't too inclined to be inspected as Armen was doing and he felt a bit flustered that he'd done it. It was an old habit, coming from his years spent in the guard at Lethandrill. He inspected nearly everyone that had gone through the gates like that.

"My name is Isaehn Raxieyl and you may address my companion as Zephyr. I am sure you've all got your own sets of questions and all will be answered to the best of my ability in due course. No doubt the most pressing of these issues is Domieen's Gauntlet, I wager. I will speak with Sebastian first, the rest of you may busy yourselves among the literature until our return. It would be best for you to ready your questions so this visit goes smoothly. Zephyr, do entertain our guests in case they get bored. And..." the man who called himself Isaehn moved towards Fukayna and Armen felt a stir in the center of his chest. An uneasy feeling filled him as he watched Isaehn push his finger under the girls chin and look at her directly.

"It's lovely to see you again, Fukayna dear."

The elf found it hard to settle his sudden anger at the man. He closed his fist tightly to help ease the boiling rage and moved closer to Fukayna as Isaehn moved away with a slight chuckle. Armen turned his gaze down to the girl, eyebrow arched in curiosity though his unsettle anger was far more pressing than any curiosity that befell him. He waited for the assassin guide and the mage to leave the room before he turned to Fukayna and took her shoulder gently in his grip. He offered her a smile, trying to ease the tensions a bit.

"Would you like to come with me while I look around? I have a few things I'd like to research while we're here," he offered hoping to get her mind off of what had just transpired. Armen was sure she wasn't feeling too comfortable and he didn't want to ask any questions that would make it worse. Not to mention he was sure the others weren't quite as sensitive to the situation and would most likely prod the poor woman for information. He offered his hand to her and once she'd answered he led the way to the opposite side of the building and began perusing through the books. He wanted to know what it was that Torak was so afraid of and why the Steward had locked him up in the dungeons.

Fay X'san

The man named Isaehn came and went quickly, only wishing to speak with Sebastian rather than the rest of them. She guessed that was to be expected seeing as technically it was the Order of Riena who'd set up the meeting with the Order of Vyldi. Though, Fay was a bit let down in the fact that they had been left out of the meeting. That information seemed to be rather important if they were going to do anything about Torak.

Even so, she put a slender finger to her lips and tapped them in thought. Fay had picked up on his lingering gaze when he'd spotted her. There had been a look in his eye that she wasn't too sure she liked all that much. The Navile woman shrugged it off though and instead took Isaehn up on his offer of looking through the books that were all over the tower. There was a balcony upstairs as well that held shelves upon shelves of books.

Fay started up the stairs and worked her way through the shelving, her fingers trailing along new and old books. Dust collected on the documents near the back and the more she weaved through the shelving the more interesting books she found. Some were even on the Navile, whole books documenting the arrival of her species and details on their whereabouts. However, no matter how many books she skimmed through she didn't find much on what the Navile were so feared for. Not even so much as their magic.

With a sigh she tossed down the twentieth book that she'd picked up and leaned back, loosening the tight muscles around her lower spine. When she straightened she felt a presence behind her and her eyes widened, heart picking up in pace. It was a strange feeling that was behind her, a seductive pulling that was almost out of control. So much so, that it was unnerving. The pull was on her power that lay nestled deep inside her, only coming out at times she didn't want it to, or when she absolutely needed it to survive.

Whirling around, Fay drew her long knife and crossbow, aiming the weapon at whomever stood behind her. The man was leaning against the shelving, his leather clothing tight across his body. He was inspecting his hand as he stood there with one arm crossed over his chest. His black hair had an un-kept look to it, very appealing to say the least, but had it not been for his chilling smile and the strange pull on her power, Fay would have been swayed by his mere appearance.

"So, you're the Navile that I felt walk in here. Very pretty. But, alas," he sighed heavily as if he were seriously disappointed about something, "I've got orders, and orders are always followed in my book," he grinned at her. Before she could fire the crossbow he'd moved so quickly that she hardly saw him. His hand wrapped around her wrist holding the crossbow and twisted. Fay opened her mouth in pain and shock, but didn't scream. The weapon fell from her numbed fingers and clattered to the floor, the trigger jarring enough to actually fire the crossbolt.

Her magic kicked in and retaliated against the man, trying to pry him from her with a simple shot to his chest. The man took the hit, stumbled backwards with her in tow and coughed slightly. He winced as he grinned at her, looking directly into her dark gaze, "That one hurt a bit," he commented. Something happened right after that Fay couldn't comprehend. Her magic turned on her and she found it near impossible to control. She dropped her knife which hit the floor and tumbled down to the floor below as she was next to the balcony then.

Her fingers curled into a fist next to her chest and she found it hard to breathe as she glared at the man. He tilted his head sideways as he watched her, still holding her other wrist tightly. He chuckled at her and pulled her closer to him, "Well, that little experiment is confirmed. I can feel my own power starting to get a little... crazy. Time to go now though," he said and Fay was wrapped in immense pressure. Her world darkened and she felt fear gripping her chest tightly.

When her sight returned and the pressure was gone, she was no longer in the tower she'd started in. In fact, she had no clue where she was but her magic was making it hard to concentrate. The Navile dropped to the hard stone floor and squirmed as she tried to keep her power from exploding. Though it was all for nothing because in the end, it shattered from her body and shook the room she was in. Fay fell still finally and coughed heavily, tasting hot iron in her mouth.

"Shit..." she muttered as the room before her spun and she found she couldn't move a single muscle in her body. Her breathing was short and the sound of it filled her ears as the stone room she was in darkened completely.

Lain Gareev & Company

Capella, Dante, and Khrae

"They'll be a problem, especially that dragon..." Lain muttered to himself as he leaned over the balcony just enough to see everyone but far enough away so that no one saw him. The darkness of the upper portion was enough to cover him and his little bit of magic helped as well. He'd have to send the dragon woman and her two human companions elsewhere if he wanted to finish what he was sent to do. The first part of his mission having been completed he could hardly wait to report back. Lain pushed aside his impatience and stretched out his hand just enough in the direction of the three in his sight and summoned his power.

They would feel pressure right before they were sent elsewhere. Lain grinned as he watched the air around them shimmer as if a heatwave had just struck that area. In a matter of seconds he'd sent the three of them to the darkest area of the western most spire in Ro'ell. Lain's smile grew as he thought about where he'd sent them. It would be some time before they made their way back and if he remembered correctly, the Order of Vyldi were very particular about their secrets and other things. Intruders in a specified area would be rewarded with several safe guards set up by the powerful mages.

Xandur, Astrid, and Stephano

As Lain's gaze moved swiftly around the area, he quickly picked out the next set of opponents that would be problems to him. There was a man with an interesting aura around him and the Nine felt it strange to see him there in the Order of Vyldi. Such a rag tag bunch of people that had gathered... of course many of them were very powerful and should they have found him he would have been in trouble. His fingers turned quickly from his last target and he decided on a whim to send this one to where he'd sent the Navile woman.

Another specimen wouldn't hurt, right? The air around the man that looked like a beggar shimmered. Of course, Lain wouldn't put him directly with the Navile woman, that would make things much too easy. No, he would put the stranger with a stone like arm into a room directly across from the girl. His smile widened as the man disappeared from sight. Lain quickly turned to the last of his possible problems and directed his power on them.

The red haired girl and her dragon were easy to transport and he sent them to the northern most tower in Ro'ell. Oh, the chaos... he could already hear the complaints of the Order of Vyldi as he leaned over the balcony in sheer ecstasy at what he'd accomplished. Now, for his final part. The elf who was too damned nosy for his own good. He threw himself over the railing and landed into the first floor of the large library. Standing up he turned and his eyes caught sight of the elf who had finally realized that something was terribly wrong.

Lain frowned as he realized he'd missed someone. That someone was being pushed behind the tall elf almost as if he were going to protect her. Long silver hair fluttered around her face and lithe frame as she was held behind the man. Armen Sorien glared at the Nine that put his hand on his hip and smiled at them.

"Too damned nosy for your own good I see, Armen Sorien."

"And you are?"

"Lain Gareev. Not that my name matters much," Lain replied, his grin widening as he flicked his gaze between the two.

"What happened to everyone else?"

"Nothing that concerns you right now. I think you should be more worried about what I'm going to do to you now."

The elf's eyes widened visibly and he looked slightly intimidated, but maybe that was because he was weaponless. Lain disliked fighting against someone who was weaponless, but he had his orders and he couldn't ignore them. He turned on power and rushed forward, his speed causing him to close the distance between them in a blink of an eye. Armen stumbled backwards as Lain came right upon him. The man made the smart move of shoving the girl away from him as Lain tackled him to the ground.

Raising his hand, he powered his fist and the increased speed slammed into Armen's chest, no doubt breaking a bone or two. The elf gasped in pain and blood sprayed forth from his mouth. Lain took a fist full of the elf's leather shirt and pulled him forward even as the man was limp in his grip.

"I don't much like making a racket so lets make this quick shall we?" Lain ignored the woman, figuring she wasn't worth his attention and powered his body for another attack.

Sebastian and Isaehn

"So tell me, what did you wish to inquire after?" The mage asked as Sebastian took a seat. The old assassin glowered at the mage, not entirely enthusiastic about this one. He didn't like the feel of the room, the feel of the other man who stood at Isaehn's shoulder. Nothing felt right so it was no pardon for him to be a bit uneasy. Sebastian positioned himself just right to if he needed, he would be able to get back to his feet and fight if needed.

"Lord V'lyn wants to know about the gauntlets power," Sebastian started, putting emphasis on 'Lord' as Isaehn had only used the assassin's last name, "When he saw it in Lethandrill there was something strange about it. That gauntlet shouldn't have the power it has right now. Where would it get something like that? In my opinion, most importantly, why does the Steward Torak have it on his hand as of right now?"

The assassin skipped all pleasantries and went straight to business. The sooner he got things over with, the better. Every minute he sat there, the more uneasy he got.

In the dead of night, Mikeal prowled. He leaped from roof to roof in silence, his knee length coat removed to keep it from giving him away. In a simple black shirt, he leaped to the top of a tall building, scaling it with the familiarity born from a life on the streets. For there, he looked down.

Below was the castle of Bosack. A large building, it dominated most of the poorer section of Ro'ell, shining out among the less beautiful building around him. Most would have built such a castle somewhere prettier. But Bosack loved the contrast, how it made him feel more powerful than those around him. And his guards reflected that. They could be seen from Mikeal's vantage point, some of them thugs he'd taken on in his youth, all with powerful looking plate armor. They walked around, keeping an eye out for any who would attack. They looked bored. Another night of guard duty, same as the last.

Mikeal had to stop a laugh. Any other night, he might have taken the slow approach, sneaking past the guards to reach Bosack in secret. This was a night for fun. He was home again.

It was time to party in style.

He focused his powers for the first time since he reached the city, his energy flowing into the stone beneath him as he leaped forward, followed by the masonry of the tower gently rising into the air like water after him. He concentrated, creating a platform of stone beneath his feet to hold him as he shot towards a guard. The man, hearing the whistle in the air, turned in time for Mikeal to grab and carry him into the air. He let out a startled yelp before Mikeal used his powers to control the armor around the man, sending him flying into the next guard like a dragon in flight, taking the two out in one swoop.

Mikeal smiled as he landed softly next to them, Leaning and waving his hands around their joints, using his powers to meld their armor together like clay.

Long ago, just after he'd left home, Mikeal had acquired the ability to move the earth and metal around him. In the scale of dragons and illusion magic, each capable of taking down armies, it was minor, with only a twenty foot range. But combined with his imagination, it was a force to be reckoned with.

He smiled and walked up to the wall. "Oy! Wake up!"

He slammed a fist into the wall, sending ten feet of brick flying to slam into a group of guards playing poker. A single stared in shock as was walking around the corner, just in time to see Mikeal step through the hole.

"Intruder!" He took a crossbow of his back and fired.

The arrow sped at Mikeal at high speed, only his instinct keeping him alive as he reached his mind out and kept it from hitting him. The effort of stopping the high speed bolt stressed his mind, but he recovered, grabbing the mans armor and flinging him against the wall with a crash of metal. Mikeal sped forth, reaching the main doors. He lowered his hands, then lifted them. The stone beside his feet rises with his hands, coiling of the ground like a reverse waterfall. He throws his hands forward, and several tons of stone crash into the door like a raging bull, smashing the thick logs to pieces. He doesn't waste time, following after at high speed. He almost gets decapitated. A soldier, hiding just away from the door, swings at his head. Mikeal barely ducks, spinning to smash a kick into his knee. The man yelps, and drops down, allowing Mikeal to smash him across the face. Another group of soldiers rush in, and are smashed by a wall of stone beside them.

"Bosack! Stop hiding!" Mikeal says with a grin. "Yer makin' mae feel unwelcome!"

The next fighter is different. As Mikeal runs towards the center of the building, guided by a map given to him by Artan, a burst water, thin and strong enough to slice steel, cuts a line across his arm.

"You boggin hoormister!" Mikeal curses as he ducks back, his right arm wet and bleeding. Another burst of water slices the air above his head, forcing him to duck. As he grabs a bandage from his pocket to stop the bleeding, he can hear the mage from down the hall.

"Come forth intruder, and face death with honor!"

Mikeal shook his head. "Wey do all dark mages talk like that?" He ducked down again as a burst of water ripped through the stone around him. He focused, this time using his powers to sense the room around him. The ground beneath him turned soft as sand, and he sank into the floor.

For a moment he was blind. Using his abilities as a sixth sense, he quickly sensed where the mage, who was blasting where had been was. He 'swam' beneath the mage, and reached up.

The mage blinked, and looked down at Mikeal's hands wrapped around his ankles. "Wha-!"

Mikeal pulled down and rose up, switching places so the mage was buried to the neck in stone. He took a breath of air, and looked at the mage before kicking him in the face. Mikeal stood for moment. Than he started dancing in place giddily.

"Oh yeah! Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah!" He spun around and ran down the hallway, entering the main room.

He blinked at the sight of an army of people raising weapons at him, with Bosack in the center grinning. Mikeal smiled back.

"Wassup." He said.

Sebastian & Company

Sebastian rushed into the room accompanied by the mages assistant or whoever the hell it was. The old assassin didn't care all that much, but the commotion that had occurred outside the room was enough to unsettle him. Already his nerves were frayed just being in the company of a shady person such as Isaehn. He wondered to himself constantly why it was that Jennifer had contacted this one when there were surely others to be chosen from.

As he entered the scene he was met with a bloodied and unconscious elf and Fukayna being held close to Isaehn. He couldn't tell if she was conscious or not, but she didn't seem to be harmed. With that settled he immediately went to Armen's side and dropped down next to him. Isaehn ordered his mage companion to find the others.

"I thought that this place was secure," Sebastian growled at the mage as he gently lifted elf's body and rested the young man against his chest. The assassin turned his cool gaze towards Isaehn.

"You'd better hope to Vyldi that whatever happened to the others and to this elf doesn't come back and point to you. Should we find that this was a scheme of yours..." Sebastian left the threat hanging in the air. The man could imagine for himself what Lord V'lyn would do to him should they find out it was indeed Isaehn's plans. He tightened his hold on the elf as he turned his eyes to look at the youth carefully. He'd taken quite the beating and blood covered his lips and face as well as his shirt, the white colored cloth was stained crimson almost entirely as the cloth soaked up his blood.

"You can start by healing him," Sebastian ordered, nodding his head to Armen. A little while later and the companion that Isaehn had sent out came back with three of the original group in tow. Dante, Khrae and Capella followed behind the strangely quite man. A few seconds later and there was a loud sound on the other side of the room as another door burst open and a streak of molted brown crashed into Sebastian's back head on.

"Stephano!?" Sebastian yelped in surprise as he whirled around to look at the dragon. Something was wrong, especially if the dragon was without his companion. Slowly, Sebastian released Armen's unconscious form and laid him down on the floor. He turned his gaze to the three that had returned.

"Stay here and keep watch. Heal the elf, mage," the old assassin growled the last part to Isaehn and then turned to Stephano, "Lead the way little one, take me to Astrid. God's only knows what trouble she's in now," he muttered the last part to himself and followed after the quick dragon.

Talon V'lyn

The horse raced down the dirt road as fast as possible, Talon leaning into the beast to lessen the air resistance as they galloped headlong across the flat landscape. In the distance the earth rose up telling of hills that began before entering the realm of Ro'ell. It had been several days since the briefing with the new recruits. Even after the events at Lethandrill, having unleashed all the power in the bracer, the magic was beginning to build to a painful point.

He'd thought about releasing the magic in spurts along the way to Ro'ell, but what would he release it on? The earth itself? Explosions of magic were sure to draw attention to himself and that was the last thing he wanted if he was going to find Jennifer. The darkness was only penetrated by the moonlight that hovered over him. It had been three nights since Sebastian had left for Ro'ell with the large company from Skyfall. He was sure that as he was riding for Ro'ell, his subordinate was meeting with the mage that Jennifer had contacted.

There was no point in trying to get into contact with Sebastian once he reached Ro'ell for he was sure that they would all be headed back to Skyfall once the meeting was over. If they weren't leaving by morning, then something would have gone wrong and Talon would have need of contacting Sebastian. He had a dreadful feeling in his stomach though as he rode, and it wasn't the overpowering pressure from his bracer.

However, it didn't help in the least though. A cough welled up in his chest and he released it without thinking. Warm, thick, liquid spilled from his lips and splattered the saddle as well as the poor beast that carried him. The assassin tightened his grip on the reigns as the bracers magic retaliated against him. Thin white crackling energy raced up and down his arm, almost removing him from the horse that took him to the city of mages.

He fought against the raging power, the only downfall to his holding the bracer of a dragon god of old. Mostly it was because he was a mere human. Should he have been born to the mages or the elves before coming across such an item, he wouldn't have had any problems wielding the item, just like Jennifer. However, that wasn't the case and he needed the mage to take the extra power from him so that the bracer didn't, in the end, kill him.

Releasing the reigns with one hand he reached up and wiped away the blood from his mouth and ground his teeth. He was determined to get to Ro'ell in once piece. The assassin wasn't going to let the bracer's magic kill him so easily. It was far too soon for that. There was still too much left to do. He flicked his wrist and snapped the reigns spurring the horse onwards, hoping that he could reach the city and find Jennifer as soon as possible.

Between Skyfall & Laowlee

Corporal Polack cracked his fingers in preparation for the final punch line of a joke he had started. “So, the man said to the cannibals, ‘Say goodbye to your tent!’ and he starts to stab himself with the fork!” Polack laughed.

The soft sound of skin clapping against skin echoes across the chasm of open air between them as Sergeant Graves face palmed. The young corporal had a penchant for reciting jokes whenever the time presented itself, such as he had several times over the course of their day long flight. Obviously this was one of the worse examples of the corporal’s simple humour. Just one of many which were now beginning to chip at Grave’s good will.

“Your reputation for awful jokes precede you Polack,” Graves sighed deeply, reclaiming the reigns of his mount. The utter absence of returned laughter earned a sour expression from Polack, who evidently thought he was the funniest comedian known to elves. “Maybe instead of wasting my time, you should quit being a soldier and become a writer instead. That way you can save me the effort of training you.”

“You’re no fun at all Graves,” Polack pouted, refitting his goggles over his face.

“That’s sir to you Corporal,” Graves chuckled heartily.

“You’re no fun at all Sergeant Graves, sir,” Polack corrected, rolling his eyes behind the tinted glass. Only because he knew the sergeant could not see the gross misbehaviour.

Although unimpressed, Graves did admire the man’s ability to joke around regardless of the situation, especially considering the squad’s current strenuous position. Guarding an infamous mage was making them all nervous. Maybe anxiety is what drove the young corporal to perform double the usual number of jokes. Lieutenant Banks, or ‘Fiddle Fingers’ as he tended to go by, had briefed them all on the hazardous nature of their criminal. Graves was inclined to agree on many points raised during the meeting. History had proven the mage was far too dangerous and far too capricious to be left to her own devices. Heck even he had to admit he was worried, which was very bad for flying. The dragons could smell a nervous rider a mile away.

“It’s okay Ika,” Graves said. He reached down, extending his hand out to caress the side of his dragon’s neck, soothing its ruffled scales. “We’re almost back to Laowlee. Then we can dump this cargo and leave her to The Nine.”

“Do you smell smoke?” Polack asked abruptly, sniffing the air.

Looking horizontally towards his counterpart, Graves stiffened on top of his saddle. A thought dawned on him with all of the potency of an electrical shock. “The mag-!”

Graves’ scream was drowned out by the howl of his own dragon. A terrible roar sundered the skies as Ika’s left wing was sheared clean of her shoulder, spraying bloody arcs of crimson liquid. Something sharp and invisible rushed past his face and Graves cried out himself when the area where his left ear was began to burn. The results were instantaneous. The convoy plummeted, dragged down by thrashing death rows of Ika as the dragon shrieked and yowled repeatedly. Graves became incapacitated as the feedback of Ika’s pain brutally ravished his own body, driving the air from his lungs.

“The mage! The mage! Someone deal with that crazy mage!” Polack roared.

Graves fought to make sense of the situation. Gasping for air, he yanked at the reigns in a futile attempt to control his flightless bond. He could see the mage through tears and glass, deftly balanced within her jostling prison as though momentum and gravity had no effect on her. Graves’ eyes widened. He could also see the giant fireball congregating within her palms. “Drop the cage! Drop it now!” Graves ordered.

Chains shattered as the convoy released the ties connecting the cage to their dragons, sending the jail hurtling towards the ground. Too shaken to release the metal ties on Ika, Graves leapt of his own writhing mount in an effort to save himself, evading its flailing limbs. Lost in free fall, fierce winds buffeted his uniform. A wondrous although false impression of flight. The sensation last for whole of about three more seconds until Polack’s dragon shot past in a blur, snatching him.

“You alright sir? You’re ear…” Polack asked, craning his neck back only slightly to glance at the sergeant whilst keeping one eye on the view ahead.

“Nicely done corporal. I’m fine thank you,” Graves complimented, teeth gritting slightly. His head spun from the loss of his dragon but an amazing force of will allowed him to bear it. “The mage?”

Polack nodded his chin down, pointing out the flaming cage. “Stupid mage is dead for sure,” the elf tisked, “Power must’ve combusted when we dropped her. No way someone can survive a fall and fire at once.”

Orange flames had consumed tiny unit, turning the cage into a fiery projectile as it plunged to the desert. They watched the object shrink into a tiny speck before disappearing completely beneath clouds. “We better check if there’s a body first. This maybe a ruse, she's an illusionist remember? Lieutenant Banks won’t be happy at all either way,” Graves murmured.

Following his instructions, Polack directed his dragon downwards, leading the rest of the party. After several minutes they discovered the splintered remains within a sandy crater. Smoke was still rising from the edges in lazy wisps from the aftermath of the impact. Ika was a bloody mess not far off.

“Dead as dead can be,” Polack muttered. Graves eyes caught the corporal's location, observing the charred remains of what looked like a human corpse beneath the corporal's boot. "So much for blackmailing her."

Bosack's main throne room reflected him well. A large place, filled with expensive statues, silks adorning plush couches and hangin as curtains, with more gold than most treasury rooms. On the marble floor was an image of the goddess Myst being ravaged by some demons, a look of pain on her face as the monsters laughed with glee.

Mikeal wasn't really religious, but he was pretty sure the image was blasphemous.

The man himself was tall and strong, wearing robes with expensive purple dye. He had a sneer on his face as he glared at Mikeal, who was surrounded by as many as twenty spears, out of the fifty that were there. Crossbow watched from behind pillars, and two mages at his side glared at the young man as Bosack stepped forward.

"Who are ya?" He said grimly. "Why do you attack ma castle, boy!?"

"Whit, ya don' remember me?" Mikeal said mockingly. "Hurts ma feeling that."

"And if ye keep on like this ay'll hurt more than that! Who are ye!?" Bosack roars. The room is silent, and a guard sweats as he tightens his grip on his spear.

"Mikeal."

Bosack blinks. "Mikeal? Yer..." He blinks again, before a grin comes to his face. "Yer Mikeal! The 'ittle snot who gave me so much trouble?"

His laugh, loud and boisterous bounces off the walls as he holds his belly. "Hahahaha! Yer the one givin me men all this trouble! Yer kiddin!"

Mikeal cocks his head. He chuckles a little. "Yeah. Yeah that is funny."

It takes only a second for Mikeal's powers to clutch onto the armor of every guard around him. It takes less then that for the solid plate to evaporate, turning to surround him in a wall of liquid steel. The guards, left in their underwear, stabbed forward reflexively, only to have the spears bounce off the wall of steel. Mikeal went into a series of moves, punching and kicking the air around him. As he moved, steel and stone followed, launching towards different sections of the guards. He sliced out with his hand, and a wall of stone flew at a group of soldiers, sending them flying. He punched out, and a man was bowled over by a ball of steel. He barely blocked several crossbow bolts with a pillar off to the side. He slammed his foot down, and an earthquake sent his enemies to their knees.

All in all, when it was over, Mikeal was surround by broken bodies. Bosack growled as he watched his men fall, and waved his hands to the mages at his side. "Take him."

The mages, one in white robes, the other in red, stepped forward, and raised their hands in a stance. Mikeal smiled, cracking his knuckles. "I love this place. Fun at every turn." His eyes shone gold for a moment as his powers rose, and he launched forward.

A burst of lightning smashed into his chest, sending him flying. He smashed against the wall behind him, and looked up, shacking as his muscles shook from the electrical discharge. The man in white smiled wickedly as lightning danced around his fingertips. The red mage waved his hand, and bright blue wisps of light formed around him. They swirled, before forming into a pair of beasts made of blue light. If Mikeal hadn't been paralyzed, he would have sighed in annoyance.

Another burst of lightning hit him, and he screamed as Bosack laughed in the background. The tall man walked forward until he was about thirty feet from Mikeal.

"Now lets see. The last time I saw ya, ya were running away from the city. Wey though?" Bosack rubbed his hairless chin in mock thought, then smacked his knee. "Oh righ! Because ay saw yer arse sneaking into our Guard Captains home! So, being the honest citizen I am, I told the authorities!" Bosack's voice became nasally. "Oh officer, I saw a gangster sneak into yer home! I can't live with the idea of a terrible man like that in yer household! Who knows what he could be getting up to?"

Bosack walked closer. Mikeal tried to stand, only for one of the spirit beasts to burst forward and hit him, forcing him to his back as claws entered his body. He screamed.

"Oh no boy, don't ye die just yet!" Bosack said happily. "See this is the best part!" He lowered onto his haunches. "Ye confessed! I mean, what the h'ell boy!? Hasn't anyone taught ye to lie!?" He laughed as Mikeal closed his eyes, silent. "What was it ye said? Oh yes. 'I was just readin.' As if they would let you go with somethin like that. Imagine. A streetling like ye, learnin' to read."

He laughed. Good and long, his voice bouncing against the walls. It echoed and stretched, until it seemed like a crowd was laughin. It wasn't until he stopped that he realized.

Mikeal was laughing along. It was gentle, and happy, unlike the mocking tone from Bosack. The mages stared at each other, nervous. Bosack snarled. "Whats so damn funny boy!?"

Mikeal laughed for a moment longer, wiping tears of joy from his eye. "Just imagine! A streetling like me? Learnin to read?" Suddenly his accent left, and he began to speak with clear and even speech. "After all, what would I learn? That silicates like common sand and quartz are natural enemies of electricity?"

Sand had been moving from Mikeal's pocket as Bosack had spoken, given to him by Artan. The brown particles suddenly flew through the air, surrounding the lightning mage in a second skin of sand. The man panicked, bursting into electricity. This was a mistake. The sand, reacting with the heat, suddenly 'popped' turning into needle thin slivers instantly impaling the man with white hot glass shards. He screamed, loud and piercing as Mikeal begin to get up slowly.

"When lightning hits sand, it creates something called fulgurite. Glass. As sharp as knives." Mikeal grinned, getting back into his fighting stance as stone rose around him. "One down."

Bosack roared. "Get him!" As the white roped mage fell to the ground, passing out from blood loss and shock, the red one waved his hands, sending the two beasts rushing at Mikeal.
He groaned, barely dodging the beasts by leaping up onto a board of stone to fly into the air. The red mage was undaunted. He waved his hands, and the beasts growled as blue fire flowed around them. As Mikeal watched, their backs began to move and shift, like something was alive beneath their skin, until huge wings popped out, lifting the creatures gracefully into the air.

"Oh... thas jus cheatin." He spun around, dodging and juking the beast as they clawed and snapped at him, a magical dogfight taking place. Mikeal launched missiles of stone at the beasts to try and take them, only to have them dodge at impossible speed. He was getting tired, and could barely keep his footing on the board as the three spun through the air. He turned to look at the floor, where the red mage was directing his forces. It was then that Mikeal saw the image of Myst, and an realization came to him. He back-flipped, and flew at the man.

The red mage, shocked, dodged, only to see that Mikeal hadn't been aiming at him. Mikeal stopped in mid-air, above the mural and looked at the beasts calmly as they flew at him. "You know what yer biggest mistake was?"

The beasts roared he floated above the mural, arms wide to accept them in what looked like suicide. The instant their claws touched him, they dissipated. The red mage blinked. "W-What!?"

"Yer biggest mistake was using illusions in a room holding an image of the goddess of illusions. 'An illusion requires the belief of your target/targets, giving you control. However, the moment your target shatters this belief, the illusion is broken.' Jennifer Live wrote that in an old dissertation on the basics of illusion."

The red mage panicked, waving his arms to create more beasts. Mikeal landed on the ground, absentmindedly shattering the mural beneath him to remove the image of Myst. The stone beneath him flowed into his hand, forming a spear of stone as he cocked his hand back. "Now for a physics lesson."

He threw the spear. Aided by his powers, it flew at subsonic speed, smashing through the mages chest like paper, leaving the man standing. He blinked, looking down at the hole in his chest, than back up at Mikeal before blinking slowly once more.

"An object that is in motion will not change its velocity unless an unbalanced force acts upon it. So a spear of earth going at the right speed will go straight through you, because you're just not strong enough to stop it." The red mage fell to the ground, unable to appreciate the free lesson.

Mikeal turned to Bosack and grinned. "Two down."

The large man freaked out, spinning to run. Mikeal lifted a small rock and threw it at Bosack's foot. The man yelped as he flew up, landing painfully on his back as his robe wrapped around his head comically. Mikeal laughed as he walked up. "Ay feel pretty good right now. Ay mean, ay wasn't even gonna come here at first. But it was worth it in the end."

Bosack flinched as he removed the cloth from his face, only to see Mikeal directly in front of him. He skittered back, but Mikeal grabbed his ankle, easily lifting the man upside-down from the ground. Seeing no other option, he began to beg.

"Please, let me go! I'll give you anything! I can talk to the police, remove the warrant on your life! I have gold in my vaults! You can have it! Just please don't kill me."

Mikeal looked at him evenly. "An' whit? Ya'll quit chasin me? Ya had assassin's hunt me down from six hundred miles away! An' while I do miss my city, I doubt anyone remembers what I leuk like. Warrants don't matter." Then he flipped the man, smashing him against a wall. The sound of guard rushing towards them sounded as Mikeal finally lost his good humor, looking at his enemy levelly.

"But 'eres the final thing. Ya attacked me. Years after ya ruined ma life, ya still came at me. And that, mak's you an enemy ay can't ignore." He shrugged. "Besides. I don't need gold right now." He frowned. "Plus, yer an ass." Mikeal shook his head. "Honestly, ay don't think ay can be convinced. Good try though."

With that, he focused, making it quick. The stone behind Bosack's neck jutted forward into the shape of a knife, razor sharp. With deadly accuracy it sliced past skin and bone, entering his brain in a fast thrust. Bosack felt no pain in the end. The rapist, murderer, thief, and tax dodger, slumped over without a sound. Mikeal sighed quietly, closing the mans eyes. He turned at the sound of the city guards loud shouts as they finally responded, and spun back around, smashing a hole out of the throne room with his abilities before rushing to leave, dodging a longbows arrow as he went.

With that, he was hopping over the main wall and rushing out in the streets, guards in hot pursuit as he ran through the streets like the street orphan he once was.

"Not a bad party in the end."

Armen Sorien

There was something in his mouth. It was warm but there was also a feeling of power as well. Armen took a deep breath and felt the power rush down his throat. All the pain his body seemed to fade away in an instant. The broken ribs, the swelling and internal bleeding that the strange attacker had done to him all faded away. He was certainly indebted to whomever had just saved him. Slowly he opened his eyes and found himself looking up at the dragon woman. He pulled his mouth away from her finger feeling slightly embarressed about the way she'd healed him. Armen took a deep breath once he was clear of her

"Thank you," he said to her then looked around. Most of their company had returned, and even as he thought about Sebastian the old assassin came through the doors with Astrid in his arms

"Damn this place," the old man cursed as he gently knelt down with the girl and her dragon right at his side. Armen watched with worry in his eyes. The girl looked to have gone through a lot before Sebastian had gotten to her. "Too many uptight mages trying to hide things in my opinion," he growled directing the comment at the mage named Isaehn.

Aloud bang sounded from the other side of the room, drawing most of everyone's attention. Armen pushed himself up though he stayed near Fukayna because her simple presence seemed to null his nerves. From the other end of the room,a man dressed in black from head to toe burst in with three mage guards right behind him. Sebastian, on the other hand, seemed to know the man who dropped to one knee before him with his head titled down.

"What happened?"

"My Lord, it is Lord V'lyn. He's left Skyfall."

"What? Why would he do something so reckless? What happened?"

"Lady Jennifer is missing, My Lord."

Sebastian's eyes darkened as he sat there with Astrid in his grip. He gave a growl of frustration, tilting his head up towards the ceiling. His gaze set on Isaehn for a moment before he seemed to give in to his internal strife. He adjusted his hold on the red haired assassin and stood.

"We leave now. We must return to Skyfall. And if we are lucky we can catch Lord V'lyn along the way and beat some sense into him."

"What about Fay?" Armen asked, a bit of disbelief in his voice.

"She is Navile born. That girl is more than capable of finding her way back." Sebastian replied. His words, however, didn't settle the twist in Armen's stomach. Even so, he stood and helped Fukayna to her feet. Skyfall was vulnerable with Talon gone. They had to go back, and what was worse, Jennifer was apparently missing. Someone desperately wanted to get the assassins attention, or maybe their plan was exactly how Talon had reacted. Leave Skyfall in a vain attempt to find his lover, thus letting the enemy inside without hinderance.

Armen heaved an inward sigh. As much as he hated leaving the Navile woman behind, he understood that Sebastian needed to return as soon as possible before disaster fell on the city. With that in mind he led Fukayna and followed the old assassin back into the city of mages and towards their horses to prepare to leave.

Council of the High Nine

The room was dimly lit with four becons of eerie blue fire burning along the back wall of the circular council room. Up in the nine chairs above the opened floor below were all nine of the council. Four were women dressed in the traditional black robes with the Nine symbol on their shoulders, five were men dressed the same. In the center of the room down below the High Nine was a single figure with his black robes around his body and the hood of his cloak up to cover his face.

"The issue of the old gods relics is still present. What happened forty years ago is bound to be repeated once again sooner or later," one of the women started her voice leaping across the empty air.

"Bringing a god back to life is not that easily done, Alina."

The woman named Alina turned her gaze to the man who had responded to her, "That doesn't mean anything, Pyren. The relics have enough power on their own to bring back a god. It would only be a matter of time before one of those holders realizes what they can do with that power."

"That is why J'haren is here. He has been in charge of figuring out how to destroy those relics without killing their owner," a third voice jumped in.

"And has he had any progress?" Pyren asked.

The man down in the center of the room shifted ever so slightly and turned his head upwards just a bit, "I have."

The council exchanged glances between each other. The room seemed sufferably small then. An unsettling atmosphere began to build in the small chamber as some of the High Nine shifted uncomfortably in their seats.

"So quickly... As expected I assume," Alina said slowly swiping her gaze across the room, gathering the others attention before continuing, "So tell us what is it that you discovered?"

"With our ever changing world, magic is constantly evolving. The Navile-"

"The Navile? J'haren. You know that mingling with the Navile is forbidden. Especially to us. Or power is greatly effected by them and not in a favorable manner," Pyren cut in.

"Wait... have you already broken that law?" Another woman asked sharply, leaning forward over the balcony edge.

"And if I have?"

"Then you will be detained and-"

"Silence!" Alina ordered raising her hand, "Which do you think is more dangerous at the present? The Navile who have yet to do anything serious enough to gain the title of 'enemy' or the very real possibility that an old dragon god can be brought back to life at any time."

Silence followed her words and none of the High Nine looked towards her. It was true that the Navile were only feared because of their unknown powers and the strange reactions that the Nine always had when around the Navile for too long. However, their real objective at that moment was to deal with the old relics that the dragon gods had. Humans now held the devices and so it was dangerous to let those relics continue to be used by those who could very possibly abuse the power.

"The relics must be dealt with. However, I still disagree with the idea of using Navile magic to do so," Pyren said slowly.

"Then pretend you didn't hear that part. J'haren, in the matter of Jennifer and Talon..."

"Jennifer will be a difficult problem, but I have plans already in place. Talon should be easier to attend to once I am finished with her."

"And Torak?"

"I'll deal with the mad Steward once I finish with the other two. He has no power, he is of no concern. Jennifer and Talon are far more dangerous than Torak."

Alina nodded her head slowly, "Good. Very good. Keep in touch with us, J'haren. I know how you are... Don't think that we can't reign you in if need be," her voice turned cold as she leaned forward. J'haren tilted his head down like he was bowing to her and turned on his heel. He walked to the double doors and gently pushed them open. As they closed behind him, J'haren's aura changed and he stalked down the hall. Under the dark cowl of his cloak, his lips pulled into a wicked grin.

"In time. I will show you all what it is to truly fear something."

Under the cover of darkness, Graves uttered a curse, the harsh word a hiss beneath his belated breath. He could not believe what he was seeing. Scrubbing his hair in frustration, he took to pacing around as the rest of the men lingered close by, uneasily awaiting his judgement. Surrounded by the scorched remains, Graves could still smell the smoke and dust drifting back down over the crater. Quietly he shuddered. Lieutenant Banks had no tolerance for failure. Banks was a self-possessed agent and Graves was terrified of facing that man’s retribution. Even more terrifying would be Lord V’lyn’s reaction.

“Sir?” Polack queried, brows dipped as concern etched into his sharp, elven features. “We understand if you’re a bit down. You can leave this to us if you want, loosing Ika must’ve been painful.”

Graves stared at the corporal with a measure of surprise. “Its fine thank you,” he stated firmly before offering a thin smirk.

That was not it at all. Graves withdrew his gaze to his own feet in astonishment and guilt. Fear had temporarily overridden his sense of loss, but now that he realised it, biting back the agony was considerably straining. He fitted his right fist into a pocket, desperate to hide the shameful trembling unbefitting of his status.

“Check the body, we still need confirmation,” Graves ordered, retreating into the familiar comfort of his duties. “This could all be an illusion.”

“I doubt it sir,” Polack nodded before crouching down with a grunt. “If magic was still being casted you should be able to at least sense some of it if it where this close.”

“Noted, but the point stands. We’re going to be thorough,” Graves replied, earning a slight frown from the corporal. He should have indeed been able to sense something, but Graves’ mind was whirlwind of chaos at that moment. It was doubtful if he could detect much of anything.

Polack searched with precision, carefully avoiding the scalding debris. After a moments silence Graves gave into his restlessness. He strolled past the team, skirting around the wreckage like it where a cordoned crime scene.

“I need a moment,” he said, trudging over to the bloody corpse of Ika. The rest of the men nodded and wandered away, diverting their attention to the plot of dark earth and fragments of metal.

His final steps became increasingly staggered as Graves limped over to the mound of flesh and scales that was once his dragon. If it were not for the close proximity of his men he may well have broken down into tears. Suppressing the urge to exhibit further weakness, he simply confided himself to stroking her deathly cold complexion. At least it had been quick, but the pain from the feedback of their shared bond still left his body aching in a way far worse than his missing ear. It was then that he noticed the thin silhouette of a faintly humanoid shadow. He looked up into what he thought was a reflection at first, the exact same stare greeting his face. The horror registered too late as his eyes widened.

No sound was made as Sergeant Graves died.

Valentino ran his finger beneath the chin of the young woman whom he'd most recently collected. Circling her, she sat in a simple wooden chair, legs together, hands in her lap, completely and entirely detached from the world. She wore only a dress, rather skimpy, ending too short to be acceptable in public, and with a heart-shaped hole over the chest, displaying just enough cleavage that one would have to spare a second glance, with little chance of ever looking away again. Her hair, a stained brown, was let down around her shoulders, cascading into neat flowing curls on her bare shoulders. A single look into her eyes said also that she probably didn't know who she was, only that she belonged to the man who continued to pace around her. She was his, and he would never do her harm...

The man smiled calmly as her loving gaze followed him, and while she obeyed his orders to remain sitting, he knew the sudden restraint she'd gained was part of his own doing as well. Stopping in front of her, he took a step back, though she followed him, seeming to melt into his hand and then not want to depart when it had. Her eyes longed for him as they peered up at him, lashes batting expectantly while her teeth bit softly at her lower lip. Had Valentino not have been running low on magic, perhaps he'd of stayed with her just a little longer. Truly she was a treasure in all her stunning beauty, but even so, not all treasures keep their worth.

Running a hand through his own hair, the man spoke softly to the girl before him. His voice was coated over with some of his most lethal dosages of his irresistibly charming spells, enough to make her shut her eyes, drowning in his sultry, seductive tone.

Unfortunately what was a loving serenade to the girl, was in reality the recital of the man's spells. Able to maintain the illusion whilst working in the real world, the circles began drawing themselves along the floor, the chair being the center while runes began to scribble themselves out, inlaid with odd symbols that one by one began to glow.

"...Ma'lvaor. Te Romaniu Eros De Levartio..." Valentino's words became stronger, faster, as he himself grew more and more excited by simply thinking about what was to come. Seconds ticked away and the girl remained oblivious, lost in her own dreams, dreams which now revolved entirely around the man who at this moment was plotting her end.

"..Dos Veliar T'za Mianlio..." Then he felt it. A sudden rippling of magic, a powerful force which seemed to explode outwarldy after just being bottled up. It was immensely strong, he could feel the natural essence of it, a type of magic which was rare... a type of magic which shouldn't be misused.

Stopping suddenly, the man turned, allowing his own power to fade as the illusions fell and the glowing along the floor ceased. The girl's voice chimed out to him a moment later, suddenly scared and panicked, having just been dropped like a lead ball from the man's deadly magic and then left to comprehend exactly what had been happening for the past few weeks. Valentino wasn't listening to any of it.

"W-What.. Hey! What're yo-"

The man held up a fist, silencing her. How tight the ropes and gags were that had suddenly bound the woman, he wasn't sure, but he didn't care. Years had made him an expert at deciphering a person by the aura they gave off. Simply by reaching out with his own magic and taking samples of the people around him, Valentino could know exactly who was weak of mind, who was an easy target, and who held the best potential for feeding his insatiable lust for more power. This particular sudden surge of energy was female, and by the way it was released, obviously it wasn't intentional. Exactly who, of course he didn't know. Why did this happen? That hardly mattered. The only thing that mattered was what he felt; a special magic which called to him, begged for him to take it and use it to power himself.

Ignoring the muffled cries behind him and then sounds of the chair crashing hard onto the floor, Valentino paced from his chambers and proceeded down the dimly lit hall. Whoever the wielder of the magic was, she wasn't someone to waste, the man knew this immediately.

Striding into the dark room, he snapped his fingers to ignite the torches which surrounded it, his eyes falling immediately to the young woman in the middle of the room. Whatever had happened to her must've shaken her quite a bit, for her breathing was heavy, the tight leather straps and buckles flexing with her lithe form. Valentin smiled, a cruel, cynical smile which only lasted for a moment as the realization of exactly what he was looking at dawned on him.

Stepping forward quickly and removing his shirt, Valentino was a fit man, not overly muscular but enough so to attract most that he desired. Even if it didn't work, his magic always helped, and already the mist was beginning to encompass the room. Adjusting the spell slightly, he used it to produce a calming, relaxed atmosphere, soothing to someone who'd had just experienced whatever it was that she did. Placing his own white shirt over her shoulders to keep her warm, he spoke, his voice matching the mist.

"Hey," he said gently, squeezing her shoulders as he brought her up to him, "Are you alright? What happened?" In a way he was curious how someone so perfect was suddenly delivered to him, and yet he didn't want to question it fully. An anonymous gift was perfectly fine for him, especially when the gift was someone he could use for his own gains.

"Come one. Let's get you somewhere a little nicer and safer.. Can you walk?" Valentino allowed a look of practiced concern to mask his face as he moved around in front of her, kneeling and ready to support her if needed. Looking into her eyes, he allowed his own to twinkle just slightly in the torchlight, an effect he'd mastered some time ago. He waited a moment for any sort of answer before proceeding, smiling warmly and acting as if he'd only just noticed her beauty.

"Why, my my... Aren't you just..." he stopped, letting out a breath of admiration. "An Angel, no?"

In his head the man couldn't help but feel giddy. Looks were great, but what was more so was the fact that she was a Naville. An innate magic resided within her, something that was so powerful that people feared it, but not him. Valentino fed mostly off of the life force and small dosages of magic which was normally found in most people, but this kind, the kind that this woman held in her possession. It was natural, pure...powerful. He could feel it deep within her, asking for a way to be released, begging for him to free it. Smiling again, he knew that this sort of power could keep him running strong for more than his usual month, but several years! He'd never tried it of course, but those mages whom had a similar feel about them and those he could overpower always outlasted the normal girl, elf or what have you. A Naville however would definitely put all else to shame. All he had to do was put on his best charm to attract her.

"Come," he said finally, standing and offering his hand to help her to her feet. "Let's see if we can't do what we can to help." Then, as a sort of afterthought he added, "Oh yes, my apologies... Your beauty seems to have.." he paused, looking dreamily at her and allowing the statement to hang before seeming to snap out of the daze, clearing his throat as if suddenly flustered. "Heh, sorry. Allow me to introduce myself, Valentino.. And i must say. It is a pleasure.." taking one of her hands he kissed it gently, then brought his gaze up to meet hers, allowing all the magic he possibly dared to infiltrate forward. "..To meet you."

Armen and company

"We need to go and quickly. If Lord V'lyn has truly left Skyfall, then we need to return as quickly as possible. Who knows what troubles will arise with his departure," Sebastian cursed as he led the way out of the spire where they had met with Isaehn. His eyes swept the area carefully, keeping an eye out for the Navile girl as he hurridly walked. The further away from the spire, the quieter the dark city became. A loud sound in the distance alerted Sebastian to something amiss in the dark.

He turned with Astrid in his arms, eyes narrowing as he gazed at the darkness. Turning he gently set Astrid down on the ground, leaning her body against the wall of a building. He directed his words to the group as he unsheathed his weapons.

"Fukayna, come with me," his eyes shot to the tall man named Khrae, "You too. The rest of you stay here and watch over Astrid and wait for our return. If we're not back within the hour go back to Skyfall," Sebastian ordered and started out into the darkness. The loud noises he thought could be associated with Talon's leaving Skyfall, but it was a dry hope with no real solidity. None-the-less, the old assassin stalked through the darkness towards the commotion. If there was even the slightest chance it was Talon...

Rounding a dark corner he felt a solid, warm body bump into him. The assassin stumbled backwards and raised his weapon in preparation for an attack. Before him was a youthful face that looked just as startled as Sebastian was. However the old assassin didn't let the boys youth deceive him and he pulled the man in an iron grip with his knife reflecting moonlight right in the new comers face.

"Mind explaining the commotion and your running around like a mad man?"

Fay X'san

Her mind was a haze as she lay on the ground. Her magic was going hay wire and becoming difficult to control. It was taking all she had to keep it from exploding a second time. Damn that man who had attacked her. His being a Nine had made things worse. What did he do to her? Whatever it was she vowed that once she had control of herself she was going to find that man and demand answers, possibly even teach him a lesson. Her thoughts wavered as her body quivered from another rush of uncontrolled power.

Then there were footsteps, soft sounds and a voice in the same room as her. Fay twisted her head slightly to see who it was that had come to see her. It was a very good looking man that loomed over her. He spoke but she couldn't comprehend what he was saying. Her magic was too much of an interference to concentrate on him, or to feel the power that was eminating from him at the same time. He knelt down next to her and gently pulled her up against his chest. She felt warmth around her shoulders and back and upon stretching her fingers towards it, found that he had put some kind of blanket over her back whilst she had been on the ground face down.

His gaze looked down across her form in a fashion that normally would have had her either blushing or on guard, however with her magic still fighting her control she could hardly concentrate on him. However, she felt calm, a kind of peace slowly sinking into her every fiber. For some reason she felt that he was a friend even though she'd never seen that man before. After what seemed like ages, her hearing returned and her body relaxed, unknown to her that his magic had penetrated deeply into her core. He offered his hand to her to help her stand, and she took it gratefully. Fay got back to her feet, though a bit unsteady. She swayed on her feet slightly as she looked up at him. Taking her fingers, he pressed his lips to her hand as he introduced himself.

"Valentino," she echoed as she stood there. Her mind was a bit foggy but she seemed to pull through and gain a bit of consciousness through the fog, "I'm Fay X'san. I came here with several companions before I was attacked by some strange man. He belonged to the Nine, that much I recall, especially since his magic affected me so..." her eyes looked down to the ground as she recalled the memory.

"Can you help me? I need to return to them as quickly as possible. Something may have happened to them as well, I need to help them!"

Her eyes pleaded with the beautiful man before her. Hopefully he complied to her wishes.

Mikeal honestly felt like crying. Either from laughter, or frustration, he didn't know, but he could feel it coming. He'd barely escaped the city guards, running like a mad man through the streets, and all without hurting men who were honestly just doing their job. And now, just when he thought he was home free, here he was with a blade to his neck.

Sometimes he wondered just what kind of bastard had it in for him so bad.

The knife was held by a man older than himself, but still strong and powerful, with two of his companions behind him. One a pretty young woman wearing wolf fur, small with long silver hair that hid her eyes, while the other was a tall man with long black hair, and skin that seemed to glow in the darkness. The man himself was an obvious war veteran, grizzled and carrying his experience with strength.

A rush of Mikeal's powers filled the area around him. In an instant, he could feel every object of earth around him. The woman was carrying a halberd, with a strange blue orb attached unlike anything he'd ever touched with his powers, and a small smattering of knives hidden around her frame. The young man carried two curved blades, katanas if Mikeal guessed right. The grizzled man holding gave him brief pause, as the sheer number of blades on him left the realm of incredible, and entered ridiculous.

They were dangerous. Whatever else they were, the way they carried themselves, the smell of blood and ash, told him they were dangerous.

But then, so was he. It took only a second for his powers to grab the blade in the older mans hand, forcing it away from his throat as he stepped back. A wall of earth rose between them thanks to his power, high enough to slow down any attacks while still allowing them to see each other, and raised his hands to try and look peaceful.

"Look, Ay don't want any trouble! A'm being chased by the city guard, so A'm leaving the city." He lowered his hands slowly, trying to seem peaceful. "Ya'll seem like nice people, fer walking armories. So Ay'll tell you the truth. Ay've just killed a man named Bosack, a big gang type man here, so A'm in some trouble now. And if you let me go peaceably, Ay can fly away in seconds, leave ya be."

As he spoke, he focused, finally rested enough to create a platform of earth off to his side from the cobblestones beneath them, which floated around in front of him parallel to the ground.

"Is that all right?" He waited for a moment for their response. As much he loved fighting, he was still feeling exhausted from his breakneck run through the streets and earlier electrocution, and he didn't feel ready for another brawl just yet, especially with people he had no issues with.

Fukayna Muidrehd - Ro'ell

She had felt the watchful eyes of Isaehn on her as she straightened, standing up with Armen. The mage did not say anything, even as she allowed Armen to lead her from the main lobby and outside towards the horses. Sebastian was in the lead, the battered, worn body of Astrid limply in his arms. The older assassin was surprisingly attentive to the fire-head, despite the ruckus that had been caused back at Skyfall. Truthfully, it did not settle well with her to simply leave Fay behind, she more than most of the group understood the workings of Ro'ell. At the same time, the news of V'lyn being absent from the order was troubling indeed. Worry was already settling in her stomach, for the news of Miss Jennifer's disappearance caused tinges of panic to jolt through her body.

She glanced at Armen, taking quiet reassurance from his presence. At least he was alright... She made a mental note to thank the dragoness later, their species was truly one that never ceased to amaze her. But the usual light of adoration was lacking from her eyes, replaced by a dim edge due to her concern. Fukayna could only hope that they were able to make it back to Skyfall in time, perhaps even meet V'lyn along the way. She turned her gaze from the elf and settled it instead on the older assassin who was at the head of their small group. Sebastian's mood was certainly foul, for he led them with long strides away from the spire, eyes narrowed and a frown upon his lips.

"We need to go and quickly. If Lord V'lyn has truly left Skyfall, then we need to return as quickly as possible. Who knows what troubles will arise with his departure," Fukayna nodded and was about to step forwards to possibly help him with Astrid's weight when a loud noise sounded in the distance. It made her tense considerably and instinctively, she looked back towards the spire, half-expecting some procession of guards to be there. Her eyes were met with nothing but the faint darkness that was looming around and her attentions were brought back to Sebastian at the sound of unsheathing weapons. Though he did not look at the group directly, the older man spoke over his shoulder at them.

"Fukayna, come with me," Immediately, she reached behind her, pulling out her halberd from the holder attached to her back and gripping it tensely. There was a pause as the man looked over at Khrae before Sebastian continued. "You too. The rest of you stay here and watch over Astrid and wait for our return. If we're not back within the hour go back to Skyfall," He directed the rest of his orders at the others. She shifted slightly, the haste of his actions not giving her proper time to even bother addressing any of the others. She pursed her lips, masking her discontent as she followed Sebastian. She would've preferred to stay closer to the others, considering what had just happened within the spire, but orders were orders and needed to be followed.

She felt almost blind as she trailed after Sebastian, the quiet footsteps of Khrae not too far off to her side. They walked only a bit of a ways before rounding a corner, when the older man bumped into something. Or, someone. Upon closer observation and from the few, faint rays of moonlight, Fukayna was able to make out the figure of a man. Sebastian looked startled for only a few moments before resuming his composure, raising his weapon immediately to the others' face.

"Mind explaining the commotion and your running around like a mad man?" Taking in the example, she also readied her weapon in case he decided to attack. She squinted from beneath her bangs, from what she could make out, the stranger didn't look to be of a great many years. Though his stance seemed unimposing, there was something off about him... The man reacted quickly to the weapon being held to him and pushed it away and of a sudden, a giant wall of earth rose in between the group, giving a nice distance between them all. Fukayna barely had enough time to move back and flinched at the flow of magical energy. (She was getting a little tired of running into all these mages...)

The youthful man raised his hands in an appeasing manner with a shake of his head. "Look, Ay don't want any trouble! A'm being chased by the city guard, so A'm leaving the city. Ya'll seem like nice people, fer walking armories. So Ay'll tell you the truth. Ay've just killed a man named Bosack, a big gang type man here, so A'm in some trouble now. And if you let me go peaceably, Ay can fly away in seconds, leave ya be." His accent was very thick as he lowered his hands but his gestures were non-offensive. Fukayna cast her eyes over at Sebastian but sighed, wrinkling her nose. "Is that all right?" He said slowly, looking between them.

His behavior was certainly that of someone who did not appear to mean much outwards harm so it was she who opened up first. She had a feeling Sebastian was too set in his ways to relent overly easily, and goodness knew what was going through Khrae's head. Regardless, she lowered her weapon a bit but did not, in this event, reach for her notepad. There would be little point in the dim lighting so unfortunately, it looked as if she would be unable to communicate at all for the moment. She hoped that her less guarded stance would be enough to tell him that she accepted his words, partially anyway, and waited for Sebastian's final judgement.

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Kaya Xenlyiun - Path between Lethandrill and Laowlee

The sky had shifted to an inky sort of black, accented by the illuminating rays of moonlight which bounced off the scant, few clouds drifting above. The roads and pathways were completely empty, the hour much too late (or too early, depending on how one looked upon it) for there to be stragglers about. Yet, not all was completely silent. Amidst the faint sounds of night that emanated from the creatures around, there was a lilting tune that whistled through the air. The melody was sweet yet with had an undertone of melancholic lament. As it hummed through the air, blue wisps could be seen hovering about a tall woman who, in the darkness, would appear to be levitating above the ground.

The woman was seated, long, azure hair flowing behind her and shifting about. A flute was pressed comfortably against her lips, the sounds that left the instruments simply vibrating with magical energy. Her pale, silver eyes were opened if but slightly, lashes partially shielding them from view. One of the wisps near her flew about, illuminating the surface upon which she sat, which was a large arachnid creature. The beast did not seem to mind carrying the weight of the woman as it scattered along the path. As it approached the crossroads, the woman removed the flute from her lips, the music still lingering about in the air for a few seconds.

"The right, my darling," She said in a smooth voice. "We will find our answers there." She brought the instrument back up to her mouth and continued playing, the arachnid complying and shifting itself before continuing down the designated path. As Kaya played her music, she closed her eyes, thinking back on the destruction she had just witnessed upon passing through Lethandrill. She had not been keen on verifying the information that she had heard back in her swamplands, but had forced herself to do so, nonetheless. Several decades had passed since the last war and she more than most had no desire to see another outbreak of such pointless violence.

The sight that had met her eyes had been a clear example of such acts of destruction. The once proud city of forest elves had been shattered and crumbled to the ground. It had been enough to firm her resolve, however. The Tow'nak Elf had initially not planned on wandering to far beyond the borders of the city but the very thought of so many lives having been lost, and for what? She had sensed a lingering of the old gods' power around the atmosphere, yes, she would know the reviling touch of that god anywhere. It had caused her much grief in the past.

As her guardian brought her further along the path, one of her wisps jolted around her and rushed up near her cheek. She opened one of her eyes as she felt the warmth. Unlike others who would perceive the shape, she could actually see the creature who was floating besides her. This particular one was much akin to a fae of sorts and looked worried, tiny wings fluttering about nervously. She raised her eyebrows as if to question the hesitation, the small creature fumbling in its' flight.

"The air doesn't feel right, Mistress," The creature spoke quickly as if determined to tell her everything all at once. "There's.. another source of magical energy." Kaya paused in her tune, only for a few seconds to stagnate her own magical flow in order to sense that of another. Somewhere in the distance, she could certainly feel another presence, though she was unsure who or what it was. Whatever it belonged to had energy enough to alert one of her spiritual residents however. And from this distance, the power must've been substantial. She flickered her eyes back down below her at her arachnid before gently patting the head on which she was sitting.

"You may leave now, love. I'll be making the rest of the walk on foot, it would seem." Her guardian looked at her from it's beady yellow-orange eyes before it faded into an array of wisps before dissipating altogether. The woman knew better than to be unable to act properly; playing music would impede her if she knew not what to expect. She laid her eyes back upon the fae creature. "Down this path, you say?" She asked calmly. The spirit nodded rapidly and she shrugged, pushing her flute into the folds of her skirt. "Then that's where we'll go. Who knows, perhaps we'll run into something fun~" She said, a chuckle escaping her lips as she did so.

Before he could scream, his doppelganger snapped their fingers. Sergeants Graves died from magic he could neither comprehend nor anticipate. Spectral claws went straight for his larynx, tearing a chunk out of his throat and hand he had thrown up as a shield on instinct. Choking out air, Graves screamed wordlessly whilst retching over his own body fluids. The man hit the ground on his back before rolling on all fours in an effort to crawl away, to warn his comrades, to do anything other than die. All of his physical efforts were cruelly denied as a heel caught the corner of his trousers, pinning his legs to the ground like a nail. Eyes wide, Graves glanced around, following the tantalizing supple leg all the way up to the source of its owner. A brief flicker betrayed their identity, and Graves’ might have described the unblemished, moonlit face behind it beautiful if not for the alarmingly delighted expression she exhibited.

Most unnerving was her nonchalant smile which split painfully across her pink lips, wide as the crescent moon. Delicate fingers danced illogically until he realized she was strumming an imaginary guitar. She bent over, singing in sweet and melodic tones to his ear.

“Hush little baby, don’t say a word~”

“Jennifer is go-ing to bury you in dirt~”

Instantly he was consumed by the sink hole emerging beneath his feet. Muffled cries where dulled out as sand indiscriminately invaded his mouth and nose, slowly and agonizingly weening the air out from him. For a time the ground shook restlessly, disrupted by the desperate struggles of the still live man down below. Quickly, Graves’ movements ceased, the earthen surface naturally coming to rest as though nothing had even transpired. Hidden behind the mound of his dragon, no one would know of the crime that had just occurred.

“Can’t have you detecting my magic now can we?” Jennifer murmured, licking her lips. Only after she committed the act did she notice her elevated heartbeat. Trying to pinpoint the cause, she leaned against the dragon’s dead corpse, lowering her eyebrows in confusion. How long had it been since she was last outside Talon’s jurisdiction? Thirty years? Forty? Not that he forced her to behave in a certain way. Talon was expertly familiarized with her antics and had long since accepted her for who she was. Nonetheless, she always endeavored to act relatively well behaved for his sake. With a resounding boom, Fiddle Finger’s words goaded her psyche.

“In a different time, I’m certain you would’ve killed me on the spot, but you’ve changed Miss Live, as have your circumstances.”

Shaking her head, he dismissed the taunt as trivial and brought her attention to the task at hand. Wielding the face of the man named Graves, Jennifer’s illusion limped back to the troop of unsuspecting agents. Polack stood to attention as she made Graves’ approach him. The still flaming wreckage acted as a rudimentary bonfire, painted the landscape and men's olive drab uniforms in hues of orange. Shadows flickered as the strength of the inferno waxed and waned, barely disturbed by the light breeze rolling over the landscape.

“That damned mage,” Graves’ illusion growled and Jennifer added some tears for good effect. “I’ll never forgive her, curse her rotting soul!”

Polack nodded sympathetically and gave a sidewards glance at his investigations. “Well, she’s certainly not going to trouble anyone now,” Polack said, pointedly referring to the dummy corpse.

Jennifer manipulated her illusionary doll, keeping his weathered features stern. From her observations, Graves was a proud man, bound by duty but not entirely immune to fear. Considering his traits was necessary unless she wanted to break cover. “Agreed,” replied Graves.

“What now sir?” Polack asked.

Graves hummed to himself, “We should report this to The Nine.” The statement was a hazardous guess on Jennifer’s part, based on the facts she had heard during their interactions and the fact their destination was Laowlee.

Polack nodded again, “They’ll be happy to hear the infamous Jennifer Live is gone at least. That way they can move ont-”

A flash of steel abruptly severed the illusion, dispelling Jennifer’s fantasy. Polack’s short sword had been drawn and thrust in a wide arc, startling the rest of the men. “The mage is still alive!” Polack screamed. The sound of unsheathed weapons followed as the soldiers gathered together, anxiously scanning their surroundings.

“Oops,” Jennifer’s voice echoed sarcastically across the broken expanse.

Jennifer emerged from behind the dragon’s corpse, her hands raised up in a gesture of surrender. Dark locks pooled around her shoulders, perfectly framing her effeminate cheeks and brow which looked only slightly miffed at their discovery. “And here I was planning to infiltrate Laowlee. What gave me away?”

“Graves lost his left ear when you killed his dragon earlier, or where you too busy enjoying his death to notice that you dumb bitch?” spat Polack. Immediately the elf’s palm shot forwards, firing lances of ice. Alongside their dragons, the other men launched attacks of their own, saturating the area with magic blasts. Explosions ringed, basking the crater in a brilliant display of fireworks but Jennifer made no effort to dodge the incoming volleys. Her body shuddered under the impacts, splaying blood all over the floor and bending her backwards. They bombarded her for a whole minute before pausing in gasping exhaustion.

“You’re a conscientious man to have noticed that in this darkness Corporal Polack, but far too brash also,” Jennifer’s shoulder’s buckled as she laughed hysterically, “If you where really smart though, you would have waited until reaching Laowlee before revealing me.”

To their complete horror, Jennifer’s limbs cracked hideously as her wounds healed. Her body twisted up unnaturally as she recovered and regarded them all.

“World Fracture!”

---

The slaughter had been short lived and decidedly one sided. The relief fuelled her ecstasy, temporary banishing her concerns. For a moment she revelled in the freedom with reckless abandon, unhindered by her obligations to Talon or the order. It was not exactly according to her plans to kill them this early, but in the same vein she was overjoyed by the riveting stir of fully exploiting her abilities for the first time in ages, so much so she had even considered preserving a few soldier’s lives at one point to prolong her entertainment.

The aftermath spoke little of the extreme brutality which had developed, and Jennifer was already heading back in the direction of Skyfall when she sniffed the air. “Oh, did I miss one?”